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BRIGADIER    GENERAL    JOHN    E.    STEPHENS 

Who  was  Commanding   General  of  the   61st  F.   A.   Brigade   from   July  20,   1918 
until  his  ideath,  at  Coetquidan,  France,  Januaxy  4th,  1919. 

(S:e  Appendix.) 


TRAIL  OF  THE  61si 


A  History  of  the  61st  Field  Artillery  Brigade 
During  the  World  War 

1917-1919. 


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By 

PVT.  REX  F.   HARLOW 

B  riga  de  Hca  dq  u  a  iters 
Detachment. 


191'J 

Harlow  Publishing  Company, 

Oklahoma.  City. 


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Copyright  1920 
iiAELOW  Publish ijsTG  Co. 


Foreword 

I  was  one  of  the  men  in  the  61st  F.  A.  Brigade 
who  belonged  to  that  disappointed  class,  known  in 
the  A.  E.  F.  as  "Dove  Tails"  or  Third  Lieutenants." 
We  graduated  from  the  Saumur  Artillery  School,  at 
Saumur,  France,  where  we  received  diplomas  which, 
before  the  signing  of  the  Armistice,  would  have  given 
us  commissions,  but  the  closing  of  the  war  relieved  the  nec- 
essity for  more  officers  and  we  were  returned  to  our 
organizations  with  the  same  rank  that  we  held  when  we 
left  for  school.  We  were  given  great  freedom,  with  prac- 
tically no  duties,  and  had  so  little  to  occupy  our  time 
that  life  hung  heavily  upon  our  hands  and  we  earnestly 
wished  for  something  worth  while  to  do. 

The  Brigade  Adjutant  assigned  me  to  duty  in  his 
office,  to  do  some  special  work  for  him,  but  this  work 
did  not  occupy  much  of  my  time  and  I  conceived  the  idea 
of  writing  a  history  of  the  experiences  and  activities  of 
the  brigade  during  the  Great  War.  I  presented  the  idea 
to  Lieut.  Col.  Simpson  and  he  endorsed  it,  with  the  re- 
sult that  a  Brigade  Memorandum  was'immediately  issued, 
stating  that  I  had  been  given  the  authority  to  assemble 
information  and  material  for  a  history  of  the  61st  Bri- 
gade and  instructing  the  Commanding  Officers  of  all 
units  of  the  brigade  to  co-operate  in  the  work. 

A  few  days  after  the  memorandum  was  issued  I  was 
sent  to  the  Camp  Hospital  where  I  was  held  for  28  days, 
but  the  brigade  did  n-ot  leave  for  home,  as  I  had  feared 
it  would,  for  about  two  weeks  after  I  had  been  released 
from  the  hospital,  and  I  therefore  had  the  opportunity  of 
doing  some  effective  work  after  my  illness,  though  not 
enough  to  gather  all  of  the  information  I  desired.  Had 
I  not  been  held  in  the  hospital  so  long  I  would  have  been 
able,  I  believe,  to  have  secured  all  of  the  material  desired. 

It  was  my  original  plan  to  publish  in  this  history  a 
complete   roster  of  the   brigade,   and   to   that   end    I    re- 

4G3292 


quested  each  organization  to  select  a  correspondent  who 
would  be  permitted  to  devote  the  major  portion  of  his 
time  to  the  work  of  gathering  information  for  the  his- 
tory, so  that  I  could  be  sure  that  the  desired  data  and 
names  would  be  furnished  to  me. 

But  my  plans  for  securing  the  roster  miscarried, 
as  only  two  regiments  furnished  the  names  of  their 
men,  and  since  I  have  been  mustered  out  of  service  I 
have  found  it  impossible  to  secure  rosters  of  the  other 
units  of  the  brigade.  In  my  efforts  to  get  these  names 
I  have  used  every  available  means,  even  to  enlisting  the 
aid  of  numerous  Congressmen  and  U.  S.  Senators,  who 
have  personally  visited  War  Department  Officials  to  ask 
that  the  rosters  be  sent  to  me,  but  all  to  no  avail. 

I  sincerely  regret  that  the  history  does  not  contain 
a  roster  of  the  brigade,  but  since  I  could  not  procure  a 
complete  roster,  I  deem  it  inadvisable  to  use  the  lists  I 
possess,  and  have  decided  that  the  present  book,  though 
incomplete,  should  be  published  and  distributed  to  the 
members   of  the  brigade  without  further  delay. 

I  wish  to  express  my  appreciation  for  the  assist- 
ance of  Sgt.  Kent  Watson,  of  the  133d  F.  A.,  Sgt.  H.  L. 
Woodyard,  of  the  131st  F.  A.  and  Sgt.  A.  H.  Van  Winkle, 
of  the  111th  Trench  Mortar  Battery,  who  furnished  com- 
plete reports  and  rosters  of  their  organizations,  and  to 
many  other  friends,  including  Sgt.  Victor  Combs,  of  the 
111th  Ammunition  Train  and  Pvt.  Joe  C.  Bettencourt,  of 
the  131st  F.  A.,  who  supplied  me  with  many  of  the  ko- 
dak pictures  that  appear  in  this  volume.  Moreover,  I 
want  to  express  thanks  to  Lt.-Col.  Sloan  Simpson  for 
supplying  me  with  a  photograph  of  the  late  General 
Stephens  for  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  me  to  have 
secured  it  otherwise. 

REX  F.  HARLOW. 
Oklahoma  City,  Oklahoma, 
December  22,  1919. 


VI 


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CONTENTS 

Camp    Bowie .  ._     9 

Bowie  to  Mills 36 

Camp    Mills 51 

Voyage   to   Fkaxce 67 

Brest _.^. 88 

Redox 106 

Camp  De  Coetquidax 131 

Lea^t:  Areas 164 

St.  Nazaire 178 

Voyage  Home 190 

Demobilization    207 

Appendix 222 


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Brigadier  General  George  Blakeley,  the  first  Commanding  General  of  the  61st  F. 
A.  Brigade,  who  after  leaving  the  brigade,  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Major 
General  and  was  sent  to  France  in  command  of  a  Division  of  Coast  Artillery. 

(See  Appendix.) 


.     '  ^o    '' ,     >    '       ) 


T'r^//  (9/  ^/^^  61st 


I. 

CAMP  BOWIE 

On  June  1,  1916,  a  newly  organized  battery  of 
Field  Artillery,  designated  as  battery  ''B,"  1st  Texas 
Field  Artillery,  was  placed  under  the  command  of 
Claude  V.  Birkhead,  who  was  commissioned  captain 
in  the  Texas  National  Guard.  Douglas  McKenzie  and 
Raymond  Phelps  of  San  Antonio  held  first  lieuten- 
ancies in  the  new  organization. 

In  June,  1917,  Captain  Birkhead  was  ordered  to 
Houston  to  aid  in  the  organization  of  a  division  of 
Texas  troops,  as  Battery  "B"  was  to  be  made  the 
nucleus  of  a  regiment  of  field  artillery,  to  be  called 
the  2d  Texas  Field  Artillery.  Birkhead  was  granted 
the  authority  of  recruiting  the  following  batteries  of 
the  regiment:  Headquarters  Co.,  "A,"  *'B"  and  **C" 
Batteries  at  San  Antonio ;  ''D"  Battery  at  Floresville ; 
"E"  Battery  and  supply  Co.  at  Waco;  and  "F"  Bat- 
tery at  Houston. 

By  August  4,  the  Regiment  had  been  organized 
and  accepted  by  the  Federal  Government  and  Cap- 
tain Birkhead  was  promoted  to  the  grade  of  colonel, 
assuming  command  of  the  Regiment  on  that  date. 

On  August  5,  units  took  the  field,  encamping  in 
local  quarters  in  various  towns  where  they  had 
been  recruited,   and  remaining  in  these  camps  until 

(9) 


Al'-:^KC*-*'^^    •  '***•  .  .•  Trail  of  the  61st 

September  5,  when  orders  were  received  from  the 
War  Department  for  the  regiment  to  mobilize  at  Camp 
Bowie,  Fort  Worth,  Texas.  This  movement  was  com- 
pleted September  7,  1917. 

On  October  15,  the  name  of  the  regiment  was 
changed  from  the  2nd  Texas  Field  Artillery  to  the 
131st  Field  Artillery,  a  part  of  the  61st  Field  Artil- 
lery Brigade  of  the  36th  Division,  and  in  order  to 
bring  it  to  war-time  strength  268  men  of  the  first 
national  army  draft  were  secured  from  the  165th 
Depot  Brigade  at  Camp  Travis,  on  October  22,  and 
permanently  assigned  to  the  regiment  the  following 
day.  This  completed  the  organization  of  one  unit  of 
the  61st  Brigade. 

When  National  Guardsmen  were  called  into  fed- 
eral service  on  the  last  day  of  March,  1917,  the  1st 
Squadron  of  Texas  cavalry  under  command  of  Major 
John  D,  Golding,  had  a  strength  of  14  officers  and 
402  men,  comprising  the  following  units:  Supply 
Train  and  Troop  **A,''  from  Houston;  Troop  ''B," 
from  Amarillo;  Troop  "C,'*  from  San  Antonio;  Troop 
"D,"'  from  Corsicana ;  Sanitary  Detachment  from  Gal- 
veston. 

On  April  17,  all  of  the  above  organizations  were 
mustered  into  federal  service  at  Camp  Wilson,  San 
Antonio,  where  they  remained  until  July  25,  when 
orders  were  received  to  move  to  Camp  Bowie,  Fort 
Worth,  Texas. 

At  this  time  the  following  newly  organized  units 
joined  the  squadron,  developing  it  into  a  regiment : 
Machine  Gun  Troop  from  Hillsboro;  Troop  "H," 
from  Houston;  Troop  ''E,"  from  Taylor;  Troop  '*F," 
from  Corsicana;  Troops  "D"  and  ''L,"  from  Fort 
Worth;  Troop  ''G,''  from  Dallas;  Troop  ''K,"  from 
San  Antonio. 


Camp  Bowie,  11 

Units  of  the  new  regiment  began  arriving  in 
Camp  Bowie  on  September  10,  at  which  time  it  was 
placed  under  the  command  of  Col.  Arthur  R.  Sholars. 

On  October  18,  the  regiment  was  reorganized, 
converted  into  the  132d  Field  Artillery  of  the  61st  Field 
Artillery  Brigade,  and  another  unit  of  the  61st  was 
thereby  established. 

In  order  to  organize  a  brigade  of  artillery  in 
Texas  Col.  Fred  Logan,  of  Dallas,  was  called  to  Hous- 
ton by  Brigadier  General  Don  A.  Hulen,  June  6,  1917, 
for  a  conference  in  which  it  was  decided  to  recruit 
two  regiments  of  field  artillery  in  Texas,  one  regi- 
ment to  be  secured  by  enlistments  and  the  other  to 
be  formed  from  the  1st  Texas  Cavalry  regiment. 

The  work  of  organizing  the  1st  Texas  Field  Ar- 
tillery was  carried  forward  rapidly  by  Col.  Logan,  the 
regiment  being  completely  organized  by  the  latter  part 
of  July,  and  on  August  5,  it  was  mustered  into  the 
federal  service  and  assigned  as  the  Howitzer  (big- 
gun)  unit  of  the  61st  Field  Artillery  Brigade.  It 
was  composed  of  six  batteries  and  companies  as  fol- 
lows: ''A,"  ''B"  and  ''C"  Batteries  and  Headquarters 
and  Supply .  Companies  from  Dallas ;  "B"  Battery 
from  Fort  Worth ;  **E"  Battery  from  Sherman,  and 
*T"  Battery  from  Paris.  On  October  15,  the  regi- 
ment was  reorganized  into  the  133d  Field  Artillery, 
Col.  Logan  retaining  command,  and  the  regiment  be- 
came a  third  unit  of  the  61st  Field  Artillery  Brigade. 

During  the  spring  of  1917,  Captain  Donald  R. 
Bonfoey,  Commander  of  Troop  B,  1st  regiment  of 
Oklahoma  National  Guard,  organized  two  more  troops 
of  Oklahoma  Cavalry,  ''C"  at  McAlester  and  ''D"  at 
Pawhuska.  After  these  units  were  organized  Capt. 
Bonfoey  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major.     Dur- 


12  Ti-ail  of  the  '61st 

ing  the  summer  of  1917,  Major  Bonfoey  received  au- 
thority from  Washington  to  organize  an  Ammunition 
Train  and  a  medical  detachment  from  the  four  troops 
of  Oklahoma  cavalry. 

The  troops  of  cavalry  and  the  medical  detachment 
proceeded  to  Camp  Bowie,  arriving  in  camp  August 
5.  On  the  15th  of  August  they  were  reorganized  into 
the  111th  Ammunition  Train,  Troops  *'A,"  '*B"  and 
"C"  retaining  their  organizations  intact,  though  being 
converted  into  companies  "E,"  *T"  and  "G,"  of  the 
Ammunition  Train.  Troop  ''D"  was  disorganized  and 
its  men  distributed  among  the  other  three  companies. 
Lieut.  Col.  Stevenson  was  placed  in  command  of  the 
Train  which  later  became  a  unit  of  the  61st  Brigade. 

Troop  "K"  of  the  1st  Texas  Cavalry,  organized  in 
San  Antonio,  in  company  with  other  troops  of  the 
1st  Texas  Cavalry,  was  mobilized  at  Camp  Bowie, 
Texas,  becoming  a  part  of  the  36th  Division.  On  Oc- 
tober 15,  1917,  when  Texas  and  Oklahoma  troops 
were  reorganized  into  the  61st  Field  Artillery  Bri- 
gade, it  became  the  111th  Trench  Mortar  Battery, 
Captain  Lewis  Maverick  of  San  Antonio,  Texas,  or- 
ganizer of  the  troop  and  its  commander  when  it  was 
mustered  into  federal  service  at  Camp  Bowie,  re- 
taining command.  The  battery  then  became  one  of 
the  five  distinct  units  of  the  61st  Brigade. 

All  of  the  organizations  that  were  used  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  61st  were  made  up  of  National  Guard 
troops,  who  were  gathered  from  all  parts  of  Texas 
and  Oklahoma  and  sent  to  Camp  Bowie,  Fort  Worth. 
Upon  arriving  at  Fort  Worth  they  detrained  and  pro- 
ceeded immediately  to  the  Clark  farm,  so  called  be- 
cause it  was  owned  by  Mrs.  Clark.  It  was  covered 
by  Johnson  grass  about  knee  high  and  showed  nothing 
of  the  great  camp  that  was  later  built,  except  that  a 


Camp  Boivie. 


13 


few  piles  of  lumber  lay  scattered  at  random  over  the 
place.  The  men  put  up  tents  the  first  afternoon,  im- 
mediately after  their  arrival,  but  slept  that  night  on 
Johnson  grass,  which  bed,  in  fact,  served  them  for 
several  nights  thereafter. 


The  arrival  of  cavalary  troops  at  Camp  Bowie,  showing  how  tents  were  hastily 
erected  on  the  grassy  land  of  the  Clarl?  farm.  These  tents  were  late.r  made  com- 
fortable by  the  addition  of  sides  and  floors  of  pine  boards. 

The  first  duty  of  the  newly  arrived  troops  was 
that  of  acting  as  camp  guards,  for  each  day  brought 
in  vast  amounts  of  government  property,  especially 
building  material.  Not  all  of  the  men  were  used  as 
guards,  however,  and  just  as  rapidly  as  time  per- 
mitted and  men  could  be  spared  for  the  purpose,  the 
camp  was  put  into  shape.  Grass  was  cut,  troop 
streets  were  laid  out  and  graded,  ditches  were  dug 
and  a  thousand  and  one  things  incident  to  the  build- 
ing of  a  new  camp  were  done  by  the  men.  There 
were  no  quiet  hours,  for  the  soldiers  realized  that 
they  were  engaging  in  the  biggest  piece  of  work  of 
their  lives  and  that  they  must  enter  into  this  work 


14  Trail  of  the  61st 

with  energy  and  spirit  if  they  were  to  become  prop- 
erly trained  foi  overseas.  Moreover,  most  of  them 
believed  that  their  stay  in  Camp  Bowie  would  be  short 
and  that  they  would  rapidly  be  trained  to  the  point 
where  they  could  leave  for  France;  and  this  belief 
caused  them  to  lose  no  time  in  putting  themselves  into 
condition. 

As  the  cavalry  troops  were  the  first  soldiers  to 
occupy  Camp  Bowie,  they  were  forced  not  only  to  do 
guard  duty  over  government  stores,  but  also  to  fur- 
nish military  police  for  Fort  Worth,  where  troops  were 
coming  and  going  and  over-patriotic  citizens  were  be- 
ing imposed  upon.  Work  of  this  kind  occupied  about 
three  months  of  time,  after  which  other  troops  arrived 
and  the  cavalry  units  were  transferred  to  the  artil- 
lery service. 

But  most  of  the  work  during  the  early  months 
of  their  stay  in  Camp  Bowie  was  pleasing  to  the 
men  because  of  the  generous  manner  in  which  the 
townspeople  of  Fort  Worth  proved  their  appreciation 
of  the  soldiers  and  gave  of  their  bounteous  hospital- 
ity. Nothing  was  too  good  for  the  newly  arrived  sol- 
diers ;  no  opportunity  was  overlooked  to  give  them  au- 
tomobile rides  or  to  treat  them  to  candy,  ice  cream 
and  cold  drinks;  and  it  early  became  an  established 
policy  on  the  part  of  families  of  Fort  Worth  to  invite 
soldiers  to  their  homes  for  Sunday  dinners  and  for 
other  forms  of  entertainment.  No  city  could  have 
shown  a  warmer  attitude  of  helpfulness  and  kindly  in- 
terest toward  its  soldiers  than  Fort  Worth  did  during 
the  first  few  months  after  Camp  Bowie  was  opened. 

So  many  people  called  at  the  camp  to  take  the 
boys  for  automobile  rides  that  the  soldiers  soon 
learned  to  accept  this  kindness  as  a  matter  of  course 


Camp  Bowie.  15 

and  thought  nothing  more  of  it  than  they  did  of  re- 
ceiving food  free  of  charge  from  the  government.  It 
is  a  sad  fact  that  this  attitude  grew  to  such  propor- 
tions that  carelessness  in  their  treatment  of  the  citi- 
zens of  Fort  Worth  became  common  among  the  sol- 
diers, and  the  city  in  self-protection,  practically  shut 
its  doors  to  the  camp. 

The  construction  of  Camp  Bowie  proceeded 
rapidly,  under  the  supervision  of  the  Thompson  Con- 
struction company,  which  had  a  force  of  several  thou- 
sand laborers  engaged  in  erecting  buildings  and  in 
otherwise  making  a  camp.  The  first  buildings  to  be 
erected  were  the  mess  halls  for  troops,  *'A,"  "B,"  **C'* 
and  ''D''  of  the  1st  Texas  Cavalry;  and  these  build- 
ings were  welcomed  with  satisfaction  by  the  troops 
who  before  their  erection  had  been  compelled  to  cook 
and  serve  their  meals  in  the  open,  regardless  of  exces- 
sive heat  or  rain.  But  now,  being  housed  in  substan- 
tial buildings  where  tables  were  provided  so  that 
men  could  be  seated  at  their  meals,  they  felt  like 
soldiers  who  were  appreciated. 

Simultaneously  with  the  erection  of  the  mess 
halls,  the  cavalry  troops  constructed  floors  to  their 
tents  from  lumber,  which  they  bought  with  their  own 
money,  and  built  sidings  to  their  tents  with  pieces 
of  cast  off  lumber  from  the  camp.  In  this  manner 
Bowie  soon  assumed  a  regulation  appearance,  having 
reasonably  well  built  tents,  broad,  properly  policed 
streets  and  a  sufficient  number  of  mess  halls  to  ac- 
commodate all  troops.  The  men  lived  in  more  com- 
fort because  of  this  development,  for  before  tent 
floors  and  sidings  had  been  built  it  was  no  uncommon 
thing  for  heavy  rainstorms  to  bring  disaster  to  the 
camp.  Texas  rainstorms  often  come  with  such  vio- 
lence that  the  canvas  tents,  fastened  to  the  ground 


16  Trail  of  the  61st 

only  with  sticks  and  ropes,  were  unable  to  withstand 
the  strain  and  were  blown  down.  But  now  that 
wooden  foundations  to  the  tents  were  built  such  a 
possibility  was  precluded  except  in  times  of  excep- 
tionally severe  storms. 

To  the  majority  of  soldiers  who  first  came  to 
Bowie,  camp  life  was  not  new,  for  they  had  passed 
several  months  on  the  Mexican  border  and  had  grown 
accustomed  to  soldier  life.  They  felt  with  reason  that 
since  they  had  served  their  apprenticeship  on  the 
border  they  would  not  be  compelled  to  remain  long 
in  an  American  camp,  but  would  soon  be  developed 
into  efficient  fighting  men  competent  to  meet  the 
best  troops  of  the  German  army  and  to  successfully 
cope  with  them.  "Squads  East  and  West"  were  tol- 
erated by  these  men  because  they  realized  that  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  this  grind  was  necessary  to  equip  them 
for  the  part  they  had  to  play  in  the  war,  and  such 
other  duties  as  were  imposed  upon  them  they  accepted 
and  executed  with  cheerfulness  and  dispatch. 

Shortly  after  the  various  units  of  the  National 
Guard  had  gotten  properly  settled  in  camp  a  training 
schedule  was  established  by  the  Commanding  General 
and  the  men  were  soon  engaged  in  executing  such 
squad  movements  as  were  required  on  the  parade 
grounds  or  in  the  field.  This  training  was  made  diffi- 
cult by  the  fact  that  the  drills  were  held  over  ground 
which  was  badly  broken  and  cut  by  ravines  and  liter- 
ally covered  with  rocks,  which  had  to  be  removed  with 
hands  or  shovels.  Camp  Bowie  is  located  on  seven 
hills  to  the  west  of  Fort  Worth  and  these  hills  are 
separated  by  small  valleys  over  which  the  men  had 
to  work  in  their  maneuvering  and  training. 

But  work  was  not  all  the  soldiers  did,  for  the  Y. 
M.  C.  A.  huts  scattered  over  camp  proved  to  be  con- 


Camp  Bowie.  17 

gregational  points,  where  during  the  evenings  large 
groups  of  men  found  their  way  for  amusement 
and  letter  writing.  Thousands  of  letters  bearing 
the  red  triangle  and  ''with  the  colors,"  slogan  on 
the  envelope,  were  sent  over  the  country  from 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  buildings,  for  the  soldier  boys 
early  learned  the  habit  of  writing  letters  regularly 
to  their  homefolks.  In  fact,  every  time  they  entered 
a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building,  their  attention  was  directed 
to  this  duty.  Paper  and  envelopes  were  always  avail- 
able except  at  such  times  as  the  supply  became  ex- 
hausted from  the  tremendous  drain  imposed  upon  it. 

The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  provided  interesting  and  edu- 
cative entertainments  practically  every  evening  and 
these  entertainments  were  usually  attended  by  large 
audiences,  the  soldiers  eagerly  accepting  an  opportuni- 
ty to  get  away  from  their  quarters  for  a  while.  Any 
number  of  first-class  moving  pictures  were  offered 
at  the  ''Y,"  and  though  the  facilities  for  showing 
them  were  not  as  good  as  those  afforded  by  city  thea- 
ters, the  men  enjoyed  the  numbers  hugely  and  made 
proper  allowances  for  the  conditions. 

Likewise,  the  entertainments  furnished  bv  the 
Liberty  Theater,  were  welcome  to  the  majority  of  the 
soldiers,  for  at  nominal  expense  good  bills  could  be 
seen  there  practically  any  evening.  Thousands  of  sol- 
diers were  entertained  at  the  Liberty  Theater  by  Theda 
Bara,  Douglas  Fairbanks  and  other  noted  movie  stars, 
the  charge  for  this  service  being  reduced  to  a  mini- 
mum. Aside  from  the  lack  of  comfortable  seats  and 
the  presence  of  men  only,  the  soldiers  easily  forgot 
that  they  were  in  army  playhouses. 

Other  amusements  supported  freely  and  enjoyed 
greatly,   were   boxing  and   wrestling  matches.      Fre- 


18 


Trail  of  the  61st 


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Camp  Botvie,  19 

quent  bouts  were  held  and  the  men  were  given  the 
opportunity  of  seeing  the  country's  best  fighters  and 
wrestlers  in  action.  In  truth,  prize  fighting  developed 
into  one  of  the  most  popular  entertainments  in  Camp 
Bowie,  and  taken,  as  a  whole,  the  camp  became  en- 
thusiastic over  this  sport.  The  soldiers  assembled  in 
vast  crowds  and  clamorously  cheered  for  their  men 
at  each  bout  until  good  seats  at  the  ringsides  became 
almost  impossible  to  secure. 

Moreover,  many  of  the  national  singers  and  en- 
tertainers found  their  way  to  Camp  Bowie  during 
the  time  the  61st  was  in  training  there  and  it  was 
largely  the  fault  of  the  soldiers  themselves  if  they 
didn't  have  pleasant  times.  It  is  true  the  men  had 
to  work  hard  every  day,  but  their  work  kept  them 
in  the  best  of  health,  and  during  the  evenings  and 
holidays  they  were  given  entertainments  of  the  high- 
est order. 

On  October  15,  1917,  the  61st  Field  Artillery  Bri- 
gade was  formed  from  the  Oklahoma  and  Texas 
Guards,  but  as  these  organizations  did  not  contain  a 
sufficient  number  of  men  to  fill  the  brigade  to  full 
war  strength  a  large  number  of  drafted  men  from 
the  first  national  army  draft  were  secured  on  Octo- 
ber 22,  1917,  from  the  165th  Depot  Brigade  at  Camp 
Travis;  and  the  first  week  in  June,  1918,  a  second 
contingent  of  draft  men  were  brought  to  Camp  Bowie 
from  Texas  and  Oklahoma,  though  chiefly  from  Camp 
Travis.  The  life  of  these  newly  drafted  soldiers  was 
entirely  different  from  that  of  the  National  Guards- 
men at  the  time  the  latter  entered  camp.  The  drafted 
men  were  taken  to  detention  camp  immediately  upon 
arrival,  where  they  were  given  bed-clothing  and  cots 
and  were  assigned  to  tents.  The  detention  camp, 
which   was  constructed  to  accommodate  about  5,000 


20  Trail  of  the  61st 

troops,  was  surrounded  by  ten-foot  woven  wire,  at 
the  top  of  which  were  stretched  several  strands  of 
barbed-wire.  The  entrances  were  kept  heavily  guard- 
ed and  it  was  seen  that  none  of  the  new  men  were 
allowed  to  leave  detention  camp  during  their  stay 
there. 

The  theory  upon  which  the  detention  camp  was 
established  was  that  men  coming  from  all  parts  of  the 
country  were  likely  to  carry  diseases  with  them,  and 
in  order  to  prevent  any  distribution  of  these  diseases 
among  the  older  troops  in  camp,  and  for  the  purpose 
of  keeping  troops  under  close  supervision  for  two 
weeks  while  they  were  undergoing  vaccination  and 
preliminary  drills,  the  drafted  men  were  made  to  en- 
ter a  detention  or  segregation  camp.  It  was  here 
that  the  authorities  carefully  examined  every  man, 
vaccinated  him  for  small-pox  and  typhoid,  and  saw 
to  it  that  he  was  made  into  a  perfectly  sanitary  being 
before  being  allowed  in  the  camp  proper. 

The  tents,  occupied  by  the  new-comers,  accom- 
modated from  six  to  eight  men  and  were  practically 
a  replica  of  the  tents  in  the  main  camp.  The  men 
were  taught  to  prepare  their  bunks,  to  answer  rev- 
eille, and  to  police  their  quarters  each  day — expe- 
riences entirely  novel  to  them.  They  were  arranged 
into  companies,  having  their  own  company  streets, 
latrines  and  messhalls,  and  were  placed  under  the 
immediate  command  of  sergeants  who  had  been  se- 
lected for  this  pui-pose  from  the  trained  units  in  the 
main  camp. 

To  these  civilians,  life  in  the  detention  camp 
was  ''one  damn  thing  right  after  another."  They 
were  rudely  awakened  each  morning  by  the  shrill 
whistle  of  the  'Top  Cutter"  and,  in  case  they  didn't 


Camp  Boivie. 


21 


22  Trail  of  the  61st 

fall  out  promptly,  were  more  rudely  ousted  from  their 
bunks  by  some  unsympathetic,  curt  orderly  who  was 
sent  to  their  tents  with  the  gruff  admonition  to  ''get 
those  rookies  to  hell  up  in  line;  what  do  they  think 
this  is — their  birthday?"  After  having  the  message 
delivered  verbatim  to  them,  they  were  sure  to  re- 
spond with  a  speed  in  dressing,  directly  in  contrast 
to  the  slow,  sleepy  fashion  in  which  they  had  been 
wont  to  arise  and  come  down  to  breakfast  in  their 
civilian  homes. 

After  having  ''fallen  in"  and  dressed  their  lines 
they  were  given  orders  for  the  day  and  were  likely 
divided  into  groups  to  take  exercises.  This  exercise 
business  proved  to  be  quite  an  interesting  affair  to 
these  soft  men,  who  had  come  to  camp  from  offices 
and  indoor  work.  Some  fat  fellows,  especially,  found 
it  difficult  to  execute  all  of  the  movements,  their 
grunts  and  pantings  often  keeping  time  to  the  com- 
mands of  their  leaders.  With  the  perspiration  burst- 
ing forth  from  their  round  cheeks  and  their  flesh 
forming  in  great  remonstrating  rolls,  the  only  indi- 
cation they  gave  of  ever  becoming  soldiers  was  the 
earnest  manner  in  which  they  entered  into  their  work. 

After  taking  exercises  the  men  were  told  to  fall 
in  line  for  mess,  and  this  command  was  always  met 
with  shouts  of  approbation,  the  men  proceeding  to 
their  tents  with  an  alacrity,  which  judging  by  their 
previous  actions  was  truly  remarkable.  It  was  here 
that  scrambles  ensued,  for  especially  rotund  individ- 
uals, with  gluttonous  appetites  always  tried  to  be  the 
first  men  to  the  mess  halls,  regardless  of  whether  or 
not  they  were  living  away  down  the  street  or  close  to 
the  mess  halls.  With  cunning  and  swift  steps  they 
attempted  to  press  in  ahead  of  every  man  who  ap- 


Camp  Bowie.  23 

peared  before  them  in  line,  entirely  heedless  of  caus- 
tic remarks  and  impervious  to  all  sarcasm.  If  they 
proved  successful  in  their  efforts  and  succeeded  in  ar- 
riving among  the  first  in  the  mess-hall  they  were  sure 
to  look  with  envious  eyes  at  the  amount  of  food  served 
to  those  near  them  and  to  grumble  over  the  fact  that 
they  had  been  given  a  small  amount  of  food,  even 
though  their  mess  kits  had  been  loaded  to  the  brim  by 
the  kitchen  police.  They  ravenously  hurried  through 
their  meals  and  were  to  be  seen  a  few  minutes  there- 
after taking  their  places  again  in  line,  using  the  same 
squirming  fox-Mke  methods  to  advance. 

It  did  not  take  the  men  long  to  notice  such  indi- 
viduals and  before  many  days  had  passed  they  always 
managed  to  ''take  a  fall"  out  of  them.  In  several  in- 
stances they  conspired  among  themselves  to  break 
these  gluttons  by  saving  all  scraps  from  their  meals 
and  looking  up  the  gentlemen  while  they  were  eating  a 
second  helping,  to  remark  that  "they  had  brought  them 
some  more  food,"  after  w^hich  they  quite  generously 
deposited  all  of  their  scraps  into  the  mess  kits  of  the 
gluttons.,  thereby  filling  the  mess  kits  full  to  overflow- 
ing, and  ruining  the  remaining  good  food. 

The  morning  meal  was  usually  followed  by  gen- 
eral policing  of  quarters  and  preparations  for  the 
day's  drill.  The  men  were  placed  in  groups  of  from 
eight  to  fifty,  according  to  the  number  of  men  avail- 
able to  train  them  and  usually  each  group  contained 
several  men  who  had  had  some  previous  military 
training,  these  men  being  always  in  demand  by  the 
sergeants  in  charge.  The  mornings  were  chiefly  de- 
voted to  teaching  foot  movements  and  positions  of 
the  soldier,  the  squad  movements  being  taken  up  as 
soon  as  progress  permitted. 


24  Trail  of  the  61st 

The  vaccinations  were  the  most  unpopular  expe- 
riences in  the  detention  camp,  for  not  only  did  sore 
arms  develop  from  the  small-pox  vaccinations,  but 
fever  and  racking  headaches  also  resulted  from  the 
injection  of  anti-typhoid  serum.  Sometimes  as  many 
as  half  of  the  men  in  a  company  of  three  or  four  hun- 
dred were  too  sick  to  drill  or  to  go  on  hikes  and 
marches.  The  men  dreaded  each  trip  to  the  infirm- 
ary, for  they  never  knew  when  they  were  going  to  be 
examined  or  made  to  take  some  kind  of  medicine. 
Salts,  especially,  seemed  to  be  quite  popular  with  the 
medical  officers,  the  men  being  lined  up  quite  often 
to  ''pass  in  review"  before  a  large  tub  of  strong  salts, 
each  man  receiving  from  a  half  pint  to  a  pint  of  this 
pleasant  drink.  The  results  of  such  kindly  attention 
on  the  part  of  the  medical  officers  always  resulted  in 
great  camp  activity,  the  men  often  living  up  to  the 
reputation  of  sprinters  while  engaged  in  the  proper 
execution  of  their  pressing  military  duties.  Hook 
worms  and  salts  soon  grew  to  be  synonymous  terms 
to  the  soldiers  and  they  shied  from  both  like  scary 
horses  from  bits  of  bright  colored  paper.  Attempts 
to  overtake  some  unwary  hookworm  resulted  in  many 
episodes  that  will  never  find  their  way  to  print. 

An  order  in  detention  camp  which  will  long  live 
in  the  memory  of  the  men  who  were  affected  by  it 
was  that  calling  for  the  cutting  of  all  hair  to  a  short- 
ness of  one-half  inch.  When  this  order  was  read  to 
the  troops  it  created  much  consternation,  many  lads 
fondly  passing  their  fingers  through  their  endangered 
locks,  with  the  prayer  that  they  might  escape.  But 
the  ruthless  mule  clippers  found  their  way  to  the 
heads  of  even  the  most  beautiful  hair  and  each  man 
was  turned  out  a  freshly  sheared  sacrifice  to  the  god 
of  military  efficiency,  bearing  witness  that   lice   and 


Camp  Boivie,  25 

Uncle  Sam  had  declared  war  on  each  other.  Many  of 
the  Indians  refused  to  credit  the  order  when  it  was 
first  read  to  them  and,  upon  being  approached  about 
having  their  braids  of  hair  removed,  were  emphatic 
in  their  refusals  to  be  subjected  to  such  indignity. 
But  the  sergeants,  firm  in  their  duty,  marched  forth 
with  a  host  of  assistants  to  impress  upon  these  way- 
ward nephews  of  Uncle  Sam  that  all  individual  relig- 
ious customs  and  rights  must  be  waived  when  Uncle 
Sam  issued  orders.  The  Indians  were  seized  by  enough 
men  to  hold  them  securely  and  rough  hands  applied 
the  mule  shears  to  the  quivering  indignant  heads  of 
these  embryonic  war  chiefs,  leaving  them  in  a  badly 
shorn  condition.  In  several  instances  they  bellowed 
and  roared,  threatening  to  subject  all  sergeants  and 
''Uncles"  to  the  deepest  and  hottest  depths  of  perdi- 
tion, but  their  vitriolic  upheavals  always  subsided  into 
stoic  moroseness,  from  which  they  were  again  aroused 
with  difficulty. 

Most  of  the  men  enjoyed  the  opportunity  of  go- 
ing on  hikes,  even  though  the  weather  was  tremen- 
dously hot  and  the  marches  were  several  miles  in 
length  and  over  rough  roads.  Anything  to  get  away 
from  detention  camp  for  a  short  time  was  welcomed 
by  the  ''rookies"  for  they  were  held  in  the  "bull  pen" 
so  closely  that  they  became  tired  of  everything  in  it. 
The  trips  to  Lake  Komo  were  especially  pleasing  to 
them  because  they  were  allowed  to  take  swims  there 
on  numerous  occasions.  The  change  from  the  stuffy 
hot  camp  to  the  freedom  of  this  nice  cool  lake  was  a 
God-send  and  they  enjoyed  it  accordingly. 

One  section  of  the  detention  camp  was  conduct- 
ed on  a  slightly  different  basis  from  the  rest  of  the 
camp,  the  "G.  0.-45"  men  being  placed  in  a  section 
to  themselves.     These  men  were  accorded  special  at- 


26  Trail  of  the  61st 

tention  and  nothing  was  left  undone  to  "make  them 
safe  for  Democracy;"  they  were  drilled  separately, 
fed  separately  and  guarded  separately,  being  so  re- 
stricted in  their  activities  as  to  have  little  contact 
with  the  other  men  in  camp. 

After  the  men  had  been  held  in  detention  camp 
for  two  weeks  they  were  herded  into  an  open  space 
before  detention  camp  headquarters,  where  they  re- 
mained for  two  days  in  the  boiling  hot  sun  while 
their  names  were  read,  informing  them  of  the  units 
to  which  they  had  been  assigned.  No  greater  strain 
than  this  was  placed  upon  them  while  they  were  in 
the  service  and  all  felt  they  were  mistreated  here. 
They  were  ordered  to  stand  until  given. permission  to 
sit,  then  after  being  allowed  to  sit  were  ordered  to  re- 
main in  that  posture  until  allowed  to  stand,  and  thus 
they  were  changed  about  throughout  the  two  days, 
until  both  the  soles  of  their  feet  and  the  seats  of  their 
trousers  were  worn  from  the  strain.  If  they  hadn't 
become  sunburned  before  this  time  it  was  a  certainty 
that  they  left  either  as  red  as  berries  or  as  brown  as 
nuts. 

The  men  were  soon  assigned  to  various  organiza- 
tions and  though  new  to  the  army  and  from  widely 
varied  sections  of  Oklahoma  and  Texas,  they  required 
only  a  few  weeks  time  to  become  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  the  other  soldiers  and  to  learn  that 
they  were  just  as  welcome  in  the  organization  as  any 
man  who  had  volunteered.  They  soon  caught  the  vision 
of  the  guardsmen  and  though  less  experienced,  entered 
into  arm.y  work  with  the  determination  to  overcome 
the  handicap  under  which  they  labored.  The  result 
of  their  efforts  was  manifest  in  the  ease  and  rapidity 
with    which   they    mastered    foot    drill    and    military 


Camp  Boivie. 


27 


maneuvers.     In   a  few  weeks   they   were  able  to   do 
creditable  drill  in  any  formation. 

One  apparent  disadvantage  which  a  majority  of 
the  soldiers  of  the  61st  Brigade  had  to  combat  was 
that  they  had  received  their  previous  training  as  cav- 
alrymen and  were  thoroughly  unacquainted  with  ar- 
tillery drill  and  the  nomenclature  of  the  field  pieces 
they  were  to  use.  Yet,  instead  of  proving  a  handicap, 
this  lack  of  knowledge  proved  to  be  a  blessing,  for 
during  the  long  weary  months  in  which  they  were  held 


One  of  the  artillery  pieces,  showing  a,  gun  crew  at  drill.  The  man  seated 
by  the  wheel  with  his  face  turned  toward  the  rear  is  the  Gunner  and'  he  is 
waiting  for  the  signal  to  pull  his  lanyard,  thereby  firing  the  shell,  as  soon  as 
he  can  close  the  breechlock  after  the  shell  is  put  in. 


at  Camp  Bowie,  their  ignorance  forced  them  to  de- 
vote much  time  and  attention  to  the  task  of  making 
themselves  better  acquainted  with  their  work. 

But,  regardless  of  the  fact  that  they  realized  their 
shortcomings  as  artillerymen,  these  men  clamored  in- 
sistently from  the  moment  they  entered  Camp  Bov/ie 
to  be  sent  to  France  and  to  be  allowed  to  get  into  the 


28  Trail  of  the  61st 

fight.  They  talked  and  acted  in  terms  of  battles  and 
dangers,  and  manifested  a  spirit  of  fearlessness  and 
desire  for  danger  which  increased  the  longer  they 
were  held  in  America.  They  were  fighters  and  knew 
it;  they  demanded  action  but  got  it  only  once  during 
the  entire  war. 

During  the  first  two  or  three  months  of  their 
drilling  period  they  trained  without  equipment,  devot- 
ing their  time  to  the  theoretical  study  of  artillery  on 
miniature  ranges.  They  acquired  skill,  regardless  of 
handicaps,  and  early  showed  themselves  to  be  a  unit 
of  unusual  capacity. 

In  the  matter  of  horses,  the  brigade  was  also 
very  unfortunate,  for  it  received  a  number  totally  in- 
adequate for  use  in  mounted  drill.  But  the  officers 
made  the  best  of  conditions  by  continuing  training  as 
rapidly  as  facilities  permitted,  the  horses  being  inter- 
changed freely  by  various  units.  When  a  special 
mounted  maneuver  was  desired  a  sufficient  number  of 
horses  were  borrowed  or  assigned  to  the  unit  engaging 
in  the  maneuver  to  allow  a  successful  execution  of 
the  drill. 

But  in  the  matter  of  wheeled  materiel  the  bri- 
gade was  in  dire  straits,  for  practically  no  equipment 
of  this  nature  was  available.  After  waiting  several 
months  for  ordnance  equipment  one  battery  of  three- 
inch  guns  was  finally  secured  by  the  133d  regiment 
and  these  field  pieces  were  used  at  varying  inter- 
vals by  the  different  batteries  of  the  three  artillery 
regiments  for  the  several  months  following.  The 
first  firing  practice  on  the  range  occurred  in  Febru- 
ary, 1918,  when  the  133d  regiment  commenced  prac- 
tice in  the  pasture  of  the  Corn  and  Hildreth  ranch, 
twelve  miles  from  Camp  Bowie,  where  a  temporary 
range  was  established.     The  booming  of   the   three- 


Camp  Bowie. 


29 


inch  guns  brought  the  first  touch  of  war  to  the  men 
of  the  61st  and  they  looked  forward  with  eagerness 
to  the  time  when  they  could  use  this  experience  to 
good  advantage  on  the  battlefields  of  Europe.  The 
133rd  regiment  was  followed  by  the  131st  regiment, 
the  132nd  regiment  being  the  last  organization  to  go 
to  the  ranges. 

While  the  artillery  units  were  engaged  in  their 
practice,  the  Ammunition  Train  and  Trench  Mortar 


A  howitzer  (big  gun)  in  extreme  recoil,  just  after  a  sliot  had  been  fired 
from  the  muzzle,  which  shows  the  manner  in  which  the  men  seated  on  the  pitces 
protected  themselves  from  the  jar  of  explosion  by  grasping  the  shield.  The 
recoils  of  the  big  guns  often  raised  the  wheels  clear  of  the  ground  and  the 
men  caught  hold  of  the  shields  in  order  to  keep  from  sliding  off  of  their  seats. 


Battery  were  undergoing  similar  training  experiences 
in  their  branches  of  the  service.  Foot  drill,  parades, 
rifle  practice  and  long  marches  came  in  regular  and 
weary  succession.  The  men  were  taught  the  manual 
of  arms,  open  and  close  drill  formations  and  such 
other  special  details  as  were  necessary  to  effect  thor- 
ough and  efficient  development  in  their  organizations. 


30  Trail  of  the  61st 

The  111th  Trench  Mortar  Battery  was  probably 
the  busiest  organization  in  Camp  Bowie,  for  Capt. 
Maverick,  a  Spanish-American  war  veteran  of  the 
Roosevelt  Rough  Riders,  strictly  adhered  to  the  pol- 
icy of  ''making  hay  while  the  sun  shines."  He  out- 
lined strenuous  training  programs,  personally  directed 
his  men  in  their  training  and  made  each  day  full  of 
work  for  every  man  in  his  command. 

The  brigade  was  equipped  with  clothing  shortly 
after  its  arrival  at  Camp  Bowie,  though  there  were 
the  customary  misfits  and  difficulties  in  satisfying 
every  soldier.  In  numerous  instances  big  six-footers, 
often  with  three  inches  of  wrists  showing  from 
short  coat  sleeves  and  with  special  splices  in  their 
waist  lines,  took  aside  little  five-foot  dwarfs,  whose 
blouses  could  easily  have  accommodated  two  men  of 
their  size,  and  confidentially  told  them  what  a  shame 
it  was  that  the  government  couldn't  furnish  fellows 
with  properly  fitting  clothes.  But  such  disgruntled 
remarks  were  not  made  in  a  spirit  of  serious  discon- 
tent, for,  on  the  whole,  the  men  were  well  equipped 
and  well  satisfied.  There  was  some  delay  in  the  fall 
of  1917  in  receiving  woolen  garments,  but  as  the  first 
issue  of  winter  clothing  was  made  in  November  and 
the  weather  had  been  mild  up  to  that  time,  no  one 
suffered  from  the  delay.  Before  the  end  of  the  year 
each  soldier  in  the  brigade  was  equipped  with  the  full 
winter   equipment   prescribed   by  the   quartermaster. 

During  the  latter  days  of  October,  1917,  Camp 
Bowie  became  infested  with  disease;  a  serious  epi- 
demic broke  out  and  continued  unabated  for  more 
than  two  months.  In  making  a  report  on  the  matter 
Sergeant  Woodyard  of  the  131st  regiment  said: 
"Practically  every  man  in  the  61st  brigade  was 
stricken  with  one  malady  or  another,  but  fortunately 


Camp  Bowie.  31 

a  majority  of   the   attacks   were  astonishingly   light. 
The  cause  of  this  epidemic  is  not  tangibly  known. 

*'It  might  be  traceable  to  a  number  of  reasons: 
dust,  hard  work  done  by  men  unused  to  manual  labor 
and  a  number  of  other  sources.  However,  medical 
authorities  competent  to  speak,  attributed  the  scourge 
to  the  fact  that  too  many  men  were  sleeping  in  crowd- 
ed quarters,  and  that  harmful  germs  naturally  trans- 
ferred from  one  sleeper  to  another.  Increased  efforts 
w^ere  immediately  made  to  secure  a  more  liberal  al- 
lowance of  tents,  which  finally  resulted  in  enough 
canvas  being  secured  to  allow  the  men  to  be  quar- 
tered not  more  than  eight  in  one  tent.  The  epidemic 
of  measles  and  other  diseases  of  the  pulmonary  or- 
gans immediately  began  to  subside,  and  before  March 
1,  1918,  Camp  Bowie's  death  rate  came  back  to  par 
with  other  camps." 

After  this  experience,  camp  authorities  made  it 
their  personal  duty  to  inspect  the  condition  of  all 
tents  and  to  make  sure  that  sanitary  conditions  were 
maintained  at  a  high  standard. 

One  of  the  policies  inaugurated  and  emphasized 
by  General  Blakeley  in  the  61st  Brigade  was  the  the- 
oretical instruction  of  his  enlisted  men.  Having  grad- 
uated from  West  Point,  himself,  and  later  served  as 
an  instructor  in  that  institution,  he  keenly  appreciated 
the  value  of  teaching  men  the  theory  of  artillery  work. 
He  established  various  schools  and  placed  efficient 
instructors  in  charge  to  teach  men  the  technique  of 
artillery  firing.  The  work  done  in  these  schools 
proved  invaluable,  for  the  men  were  able  to  put  the 
theories  learned  there  rapidly  into  effect  in  the  field, 
this  service  being  specially  beneficial  because  of  the 
scarcity  of  ordnance  property. 


32  Trail  of  the  61st 

General  Blakeley  also  used  his  school  idea  in  mak- 
ing plans  for  his  officers.  Practically  every  officer 
in  his  brigade  was  sent  to  the  range  to  take  a  special 
course  in  artillery  firing,  and  a  large  number  of  them 
were  sent  to  Fort  Sill,  where  they  entered  the  School 
of  Fire.  After  completing  their  work  such  officers 
as  were  in  Fort  Sill  returned  to  Camp  Bowie,  where 
they  were  detailed  as  instructors  on  the  range  and  in 
the  school  rooms.  General  Blakeley  was  so  thorough 
in  his  work  that  many  of  his  officers  have  said  they 
would  rather  face  a  firing  squad  than  to  go  before 
him  and  be  quizzed  about  their  knowledge  of  artil- 
lery. 

After  work  was  completed  on  the  range,  the  men 
were  drilled  in  foot  movements,  military  courtesies 
and  such  other  special  drills  as  were  necessary  to 
make  them  finished  soldiers.  There  was  guard  duty, 
police  duty,  kitchen  duty  and  daily  formations  in  mo- 
notonous succession,  until  the  men  grew  sick  and  tired 
of  Camp  Bowie,  cursing  the  fate  that  held  them  in 
the  states  when  apparently  there  was  such  need  for 
their  services  in  Europe.  During  this  time  rumors  by 
the  thousand  and  million  flooded  the  camp;  night 
and  day,  at  reveille  and  at  retreat;  on  duty  and  off 
duty — everywhere,  rumor  reigned  supreme. 

During  the  latter  part  of  May  gas  masks  were 
issued  to  the  brigade  and  from  then  until  the  time 
they  left  Camp  Bowie  it  was  customary  to  see  bat- 
teries* of  men  engaged  in  gas  drill.  This  drill  was 
very  disagreeable  during  the  hot  weather,  perspira- 
tion gathering  in  the  masks  in  such  quantities  that  the 
men  were  at  times  persecuted  with  a  deluge  of  hot 
briny  water  over  their  faces  and  in  their  eyes.  But 
upon  protesting  against  this  treatment  they  were  told 
by  their  officers  that  no  doubt  this  was  only  a  slight 


Camp  Boiow,.  '  ,    , .  ;  ,         . ''',  i ' .'  :8^^' 

indication  of  the  inconveniences  to  be  undergone  in 
Europe  and  if  they  were  unable  to  stand  this  little  in- 
convenience here  they  v^ould  be  poor  soldiers  in 
France. 

On  July  4,  a  special  detachment  of  officers  and 
enlisted  men  left  Camp  Bowie  for  overseas,  as  an  ad- 
vance school  detachment  from  the  61st  Brigade.  These 
men  were  sent  ahead  of  the  brigade  to  study  new 
developments  in  artillery  work,  and  to  make  ar- 
rangements for  the  arrival  of  the  remainder  of  the 
brigade.  The  detachment  arrived  at  Hoboken,  N.  J., 
July  9,  remaining  there  until  July  18,  when  it  sailed 
for  France  on  the  U.  S.  S.  George  Washington.  After 
an  uneventful  voyage  it  arrived  in  Brest,  July  30th, 
and  was  immediately  sent  to  Camp  de  Coetquidan, 
where  the  men  entered  various  schools. 

Brig.  Gen.  Geo.  Blakeley,  who  had  been  in  com- 
mand of  the  61st  Brigade  since  its  organization  in 
Camp  Bowie,  was  relieved  of  command  on  July  11 
and  ordered  to  Charleston,  S.  C,  to  assume  com- 
mand of  the  Atlantic  Coast  Artillery  District.  Gen. 
Blakeley  had  won  the  confidence  of  his  men  and  they 
sincerely  regretted  his  transfer.  Upon  his  departure 
Col.  Arthur  Sholars,  commander  of  the  132nd  regi- 
ment, assumed  command  of  the  brigade. 

On  July  10,  1918,  Camp  Bowie  was  the  scene  of 
wild  joy,  the  long  hoped  for  order  from  headquarters 
authorizing  the  61st  Field  Artillery  to  entrain  July 
16,  for  Hoboken,  N.  J.,  being  received  in  the  morning, 
and  the  pent  up  feelings  of  the  soldiers  found  expres- 
sion in  feverish  preparations  for  an  early  departure. 

Where  lassitude  and  inertia  had  reigned  only  a 
few  hours  before,  excitement  and  activity  now  domi- 
nated.   Men  commenced  to  write  home ;  they  prepared 


'S4 


Trail  of  the  61st 


COLONEL  ARTHUR  R.  SHOLARS, 

Commander  of   132nd  F.    A. 

(See  Appendix) 


Camp  Bowie.  35 

for  inspections  which  they  knew  would  come;  invoice 
was  taken  of  all  property  on  hand  and  those  who  had 
a  surplus  were  careful  to  see  that  it  was  boxed  up 
and  sent  home  so  that  their  equipment  would  be  in 
full  compliance  with  oversea  regulations;  not  a  single 
thing  was  left  undone  that  would  retard  their  depart- 
ure from  camp.  They  worked  with  smiles  and  songs 
on  their  lips  and  everybody  was  gloriously  happy.  If 
there  was  a  single  individual  in  the  brigade  who  was 
not  glad  to  leave  Camp  Bowie  he  did  not  make  his 
feelings  known. 

By  the  evening  of  July  15  the  brigade  was  all  set 
for  entraining  on  the  following  day,  and  men  an- 
swered taps  only  because  they  were  required  to  do  so. 
Very  few  slept  during  the  night  and  all  looked  for- 
ward to  the  morrow  as  a  red  letter  day  in  their  lives. 


II. 

BOWIE  TO  MILLS 

The  morning  of  July  16th  dawned  clear  and  hot, 
but  the  heat  was  scarcely  noticed  by  the  hurrying  men 
as  they  bustled  about  in  final  preparation  for  their  de- 
parture from  Camp  Bowie.  Tents  were  torn  down 
and  hurriedly  taken  away  in  trucks;  barrack  bags, 
stuffed  to  the  limit,  were  thrown  into  waiting  trucks 
to  be  hauled  to  the  trains;  men  darted  hither  and 
thither  over  the  camp,  busy  as  bees  preparing  to 
swarm. 

The  First  and  Third  Battalions  of  the  133rd  F. 
A.,  and  the  whole  132nd  regiment  had  entrained  the 
previous  day,  leaving  Bowie  at  eight-thirty  a.  m.  The 
Second  Battalion  of  the  131st  F.  A.  was  marched  to 
the  train  and  loaded  on  cars  early  in  the  morning, 
leaving  a  short  while  before  noon.  The  111th  Trench 
Mortar  Battery  and  Brigade  Headquarters  occupied 
their  coaches  by  11  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  were 
away  from  camp  by  1  p.  m.  The  following  day  the 
First  Battalion  of  the  131st  and  the  111th  Ammuni- 
tion Train  waved  farewell  to  Camp  Bovie,  the  depart- 
ure of  these  organizations  taking  the  last  soldiers  of 
the  61st  Brigade  from  Fort  Worth,  the  scene  of  so 
many  long,  weary  months  of  work  during  the  past 
eleven  months. 

A  part  of  the  brigade  traveled  to  Camp  Mills 
over  the  northern  route  and  a  part  over  the  southern 
route.  Those  traveling  over  the  northern  route  went 
from  Camp  Bowie  through  northern  Texas,  over  the 
Texas  &  Pacific  railroad,  to  Durant,  Oklahoma,  having 

(36.) 


Bowie  to  Mills.  37 

passed  through  Denton,  Collinsville  and  Denison, 
Texas  on  the  way.  At  all  of  these  places  they  were 
greeted  by  great  demonstrations  on  the  part  of  the 
citizens,  who  were  at  the  stations  in  numbers  to  see 
the  boys  as  they  passed  through  and  to  bid  them  God- 
speed on  their  journey.  At  each  station  bevies  of 
girls,  garbed  in  the  uniform  of  Red  Cross  workers, 
distributed  sweetmeats,  postcards  and,  in  a  few  in- 
stances, kisses  to  the  boys.  .Most  of  the  units  stopped 
at  Denison  for  an  hour  or  so  in  order  to  take  exer- 
cise and  while  there  were  treated  to  many  kindnesses. 

Without  stopping  at  Durant  the  trains  proceeded 
into  Oklahoma,  passing  through  Caddo,  Atoka, 
Kiowa,  Savannah  and  other  small  towns  until  Mc- 
Alester  was  reached.  To  many  of  the  men  this  part 
of  Oklahoma  was  familiar,  though  a  majority  of  the 
Texas  troops  looked  out  in  surprise  upon  the  barren 
landscape  with  its  rocky  hills  and  many  coal  mines. 
The  appearance  of  the  rocks,  which  are  composed 
largely  of  slate  and  granite,  also  proved  to  be  a 
source  of  considerable  interest. 

After  leaving  McAlester,  the  trains  passed 
through  Eufaula  and  Checotah,  arriving  at  Musko- 
gee, one  of  the  large  cities  of  Oklahoma.  A  great 
many  girls  were  in  evidence  in  this  town,  some  of 
them  being  so  anxious  to  see  the  boys  that  they 
climbed  into  the  coaches  for  that  purpose.  The  boys 
from  Texas  were  especially  interested  in  these  Ok- 
lahoma girls  because  so  many  of  them  were  Indian 
girls. 

Leaving  Muskogee,  the  trains  passed  through  the 
northeastern  part  of  Oklahoma,  arriving  at  another 
good-sized  town,  Parsons,  Kansas,  where  the  men 
saw  the  large  yards  of  the  M.,  K.  &  T.  Railroad.  To 
the  east  of  Parsons  the  country  showed  signs  of  the 


38  Trail  of  the  64st 

roughness  that  is  so  marked  farther  east  toward  the 
great  mining  districts  in  Missouri,  but  to  the  north 
and  west  the  land  lay  in  a  great  rolling  prairie,  fine 
crops  of  corn  and  wheat  showing  up  well.  From  Par- 
sons, the  journey  was  continued  through  Ft.  Scott, 
where  the  soldiers  saw  great  numbers  of  negroes ;  and 
continuing  on  their  way  they  passed  through  rich 
farm  lands  of  eastern  Kansas  and  western  Missouri, 
where  a  number  of  prosperous  towns  were  passed, 
until  Sedalia  was  reached.  Several  of  the  units  pa- 
raded in  Sedalia,  being  hospitably  treated  by  its  citi- 
zens. "^ 

The  next  move  brought  the  trains  to  the  Mis- 
souri river,  which  was  crossed  a  short  distance  from 
Boonville,  Missouri,  the  men  observing  that  the  bridge 
over  the  river  was  carefully  guarded  by  soldiers. 
Passing  through  the  scenic  lands  of  pretty  hills  and 
winding  streams  of  Missouri  the  troops  came  again  to 
the  Missouri  river  and  crossed  over  it  on  the  large 
concrete  bridge  at  St.  Charles,  Mo. 

The  most  important  city  of  the  trip  thus  far  was 
now  approached,  St.  Louis  being  entered.  St.  Louis 
did  not  appeal  to  the  men,  for  its  dirty,  grimy  streets 
and  old  smoke-stained  buildings  compared  very  un- 
favorably with  the  fresh-looking,  neat  little  cities  of 
Texas  and  Oklahoma.  In  St.  Louis  many  men  who. 
had  not  been  north  before  had  their  first  sight  of  fac- 
tories, the  large  railroad  station,  viaducts  and  other 
features  common  to  large  cities. 

Taking  the  Wabash  tracks,  the  troop  trains 
passed  from  St.  Louis  into  Illinois,  going  through 
Litchfield  to  Decatur.  Illinois  presented  great 
stretches  of  rich  farm  lands  where  tremendous  crops 
of  corn  were  being  raised,  and  where  many  of  the 


Bowie  to  Mills. 


39 


^:^m 


COLONEL   FRED   LOGAX, 

Commander   of    133rd   F.    A. 

(See  Appendix.) 


40  Trail  of  the  61st 

soldiers  for  the  first  time  saw  corn  grown  in  such 
quantity. 

Leaving  Decatur,  the  troops  were  taken  through 
Danville,  over  the  state  line  to  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana, 
where  they  observed  the  factories  of  the  General  Elec- 
tric Company  and  the  Wabash  Railroad  Company.  It 
was  here  they  had  their  first  view  of  girls  dressed  in 
overalls. 

The  trains  were  divided  at  Fort  Wayne,  a  part 
of  them  going  to  Toledo  and  thence  to  Detroit,  while 
the  others  continued  to  Mansfield  and  Cleveland. 
Detroit  seemed  very  attractive  to  the  soldiers;  they 
had  heard  enough  about  this  wonderful  city  to  be 
greatly  pleased  over  passing  through  it. 

Crossing  the  Detroit  river  on  ferry  boats,  the 
trains  were  landed  in  Canada,  where  for  the  first 
time  since  their  Mexican  border  experiences  the  men 
found  themselves  outside  of  the  boundaries  of  their 
own  country.  They  were  much  more  favorably  im- 
pressed with  Canada,  however,  than  they  had  been 
with  Mexico.  They  passed  through  several  Canadian 
towns  and  one  of  the  men  in  relating  the  experiences 
of  his  trip  said  of  the  Canadian  girls  at  Windsor, 
"They  kissed  us  good-bye  and  hugged  us;  they  were 
very  nice  girls." 

Niagara  Falls,  Ontario,  was  reached  early  one 
morning,  Niagara  Falls,  New  York,  being  entered 
shortly  thereafter.  On  the  New  York  side  the  soldiers 
left  the  cars  to  see  the  famous  water  falls,  and  were 
much  impressed  by  the  wonderful  sight. 

From  Niagara  they  passed  through  New  York  on 
the  Lehigh  Valley  railroad,  and  stopped  for  a  short 
time  at  Rochester.  From  Rochester  they  continued  on 
their  route  through  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  to 
Jersey  City. 


Boivie  to  Mills.  41 

The  latter  part  of  the  trip  had  been  the  most 
beautiful  for  the  scenery  was  varied  and  highly  attrac- 
tive; prosperous  farm  houses  dotted  the  landscape 
and  v^ealthy  manufacturing  tov^ns  were  passed  fre- 
quently. The  roadbed  of  the  Lehigh  Valley  lies  for 
the  most  part  along  the  bank  of  the  Susquehannah 
river,  which  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  little  streams 
in  the  United  States.  Also  during  the  evenings  and 
nights  the  men  greatly  enjoyed  watching  the  many 
burning  furnaces  along  the  route  as  these  furnaces 
gave  forth  dancing  flames  of  blue,  yellow  and  white 
light. 

That  part  of  the  train  going  by  way  of  Cleve- 
land also  had  a  very  enjoyable  trip.  Cleveland  itself 
w^as  visited  by  the  soldiers  and  most  of  them  were 
pleased  with  it.  After  Cleveland,  the  trains  came  to 
Erie,  Pennsylvania,  near  which  the  cars  were  stopped 
and  the  men  allowed  to  detrain  for  a  bath  in  Lake 
Erie.  They  had  been  cooped  up  in  berths  for  several 
days,  and  greatly  enjoyed  the  water  and  played  about 
in  it  for  an  hour  or  more. 

Proceeding  from  Erie,  the  next  large  town 
reached  was  Buffalo,  New  York,  where  the  troop 
trains  were  transferred  to  the  D.,  L.  &  W.  tracks,  on 
which  they  remained  until  Jersey  City  was  reached. 
The  experience  of  these  latter  troops  through  New 
Yoriv,  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  were  similar  to 
those  who  had  just  passed  through  these  states  on 
the  Lehigh  Valley  railroad. 

The  section  of  the  troops  which  started  over  the 
southern  route  entrained  on  the  Cotton  Belt  tracks, 
going  from  Fort  Worth  through  several  northern 
Texas  towns,  the  most  important  of  which  was  Green- 
ville, where  they  were  accorded  a  most  royal  welcome, 
and  were  served  with  candy,  cakes,  watermelons  and 


42  Trail  of  the  61st 

postcards.  Proceeding  from  Greenville  they  passed 
through  Texas  into  Arkansas,  to  Pine  Bluff,  the  largest 
town  seen  in  Arkansas.  They  were  entertained  right 
merrily  in  Arkansas  by  the  rough,  hilly  country,  the 
proverbial  Arkansas  "hill-billies"  and  the  noted  rail- 
splitter  hogs. 

The  trains  next  proceeded  to  Memphis,  Tennes- 
see, which  southern  metropolis  seemed  highly  attrac- 
tive to  the  men  when  they  became  acquainted  with  it. 
Many  units  were  allowed  to  detrain  here  for  a  short 
time  to  visit  the  town. 

Leaving  Memphis  a  part  of  the  trains  proceeded 
across  the  Mississippi  line  and  passed  through  Corinth 
to  Chattanooga.  The  latter  town,  which  played  such 
an  important  part  in  the  civil  war,  was  visited  for  a 
short  time  by  the  troops  and  they  were  treated  to  the 
usual  delicacies  by  Red  Cross  women. 

The  trains  now  passed  through  Tennessee  to 
Knoxville,  Johnson  City  and  Bristol,  going  over  the 
state  line  into  Virginia.  Radford  and  Roanoke  were 
next  passed,  the  trains  later  arriving  at  Lynchburg, 
also  one  of  the  cities  that  suffered  greatly  during  the 
Civil  war.  Only  a  few  miles  from  this  point,  the 
troops  were  told,  was  located  the  great  natural  bridge 
of  Virginia. 

The  trip  thus  far  through  the  old  southern 
states  had  been  very  disappointing,  for  instead  of 
finding  prosperous  lands  full  of  beautiful  homes  and 
happy  people  the  soldiers  had  seen  uncultivated  areas 
inhabited  largely  by  negroes  and  poor  white  farmers, 
who  apparently  earned  a  meager  livelihood  by  doing 
just  enough  farming  to  keep  them  alive.  Their  homes 
were  dilapidated,  their  stock  scrawny  and  poorly  fed, 
and  everything  about  them  showed  lack  of  .attention 
ai?d  energy. 


Bowie  to  Mills.  43 

Leaving  Lynchburg,  the  troops  proceeded  to 
Fredericksburg,  Washington,  Baltimore,  Wilmington, 
Philadelphia  and  Trenton,  arriving  finally  at  Jersey 
City. 

The  other  division  of  this  train  left  Memphis  for 
Birmingham  where  they  detrained  a  while  to  see  the 
''Southern  Pittsburgh."  They  were  greatly  impressed 
with  this  city,  because  of  its  clean  broad  streets,  bust- 
ling population  and  beautiful  buildings,  and  labeled 
it  the  most  attractive  city  through  which  they  had 
passed. 

Proceeding  from  Birmingham,  the  trains  next 
reached  Atlanta,  which  though  much  older  and  less 
attractive  than  Birmingham,  yet  had  an  air  of  age 
that  appealed  to  the  men.  The  Red  Cross  women 
were  especially  fine  here  also. 

Atlanta  was  soon  left  behind  in  the  journey  on- 
ward through  Georgia,  South  Carolina  and  North 
Carolina.  Raleigh  was  the  next  city  of  importance 
reached,  but  the  troops  had  become  so  accustomed  to 
southern  cities  by  this  time  that  they  paid  little  at- 
tention to  Raleigh,  except  to  notice  that  it  was  the 
capital  of  North  Carolina. 

From  Raleigh  the  troops  proceeded  to  Richmond, 
where  a  short  stop  was  allowed  to'  see  the  city.  The 
men  had  heard  so  much  about  Atlanta  that  they  ex- 
pected to  see  a  much  more  attractive  city  than  it 
proved  to  be. 

After  Richmond  came  Fredericksburg,  from 
which  they  followed  the  same  route  as  that  taken 
by  the  other  troops  who  had  separated  from  them  at 
Memphis.  The  remainder  of  the  trip  was  much  more 
interesting  than  the  first  part  had  been,  as  it  lay  over 
a  part  of  the  country  rich  in  scenery  and  full  of  his- 
torical interest. 


44  Trail  of  the  61st 

Washington,  D.  C,  was  especially  interesting  to 
the  troops,  though  only  a  few  of  them  were  allowed 
to  detrain  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  it.  Every  man 
made  a  strong  effort  to  see  the  national  capital  and  the 
White  House,  though  the  Washington  monument  and 
governmental  buildings  also  came  in  for  their  share 
of  interest.  Then,  too,  the  men  anxiously  sought  a 
view  of  historical  old  Pennsylvania  avenue  and  the 
wonderful  statuary  so  abundant  in  Washington. 

Baltimore  proved  interesting  to  the  troops,  chief- 
ly because  it  was  situated  on  Chesapeake  bay,  where 
the  men  felt  that  they  could  catch  a  whiff  of  ocean 
breezes.  Philadelphia,  because  of  its  size  and  age, 
was  also  enjoyed.  From  Jersey  City  the  reunited 
troops  were  transferred  by  ferry  to  Long  Island,  and 
in  this  trip  passed  under  the  three  great  bridges  that 
join  the  Island  with  the  mainland  of  New  York  City. 
When  the  ferry  boats  left  the  landing  at  Hoboken 
and  the  men  felt  themselves  being  carried  on  the 
water  a  thrill  of  excitement  passed  over  them,  for 
practically  all  realized  that  this  was  a  small  taste  of 
what  they  would  probably  be  experiencing  on  the 
Atlantic  ocean  within  a  short  time. 

Upon  debarking  from  the  ferry  boats  on  Long 
Island  they  were  loaded  on  trains  which  took  them 
to  a  station  near  Camp  Mills  where  they  detrained, 
were  formed  in  columns  and  marched  to  newly  as- 
signed quarters. 

But  even  before  becoming  settled  in  camp  at 
Mills  discussion  became  rife  about  the  wonderful  trip 
they  had  just  completed  and  practically  all  of  the  men 
wrote  long  letters  home  describing  their  experiences 
on  this  trip. 

While  at  Camp  Bowie  they  had  become  accus- 
tomed to  sleeping  on  cots,  between  blankets,  without 


Boivie  to  MHlv  45 

sheets  or  pillows  but  the  Pullman  cars  which  carried 
them  across  the  continent,  had  provided  berths  with 
soft  beds,  white  sheets  and  pillow  cases  and  the  men 
felt  that  on  this  trip  they  had  been  allowed  to  approach 
the  status  of  respectable  gentlemen.  The  berths,  on  the 
whole,  had  proved  to  be  quite  comfortable,  though  two 
men  had  been  assigned  to  each  lower  and  one  man  to 
each  upper.  After  the  first  night  or  two,  when  the 
weather  was  unusually  warm,  they  had  been  able  to 
sleep  well  and  their  time  had  been  spent  quite  pleas- 
antly. 

Each  troop  train  had  been  provided  with  its 
kitchen  car,  where  food  was  prepared  and  then  served 
from  buckets  and  pans,  which  were  used  by  the  K.  Ps. 
in  transferring  food  to  the  various  coaches.  The  quality 
of  food  served  was  very  good,  considering  the  fact 
that  it  was  field  rations.  The  men  had  jolly  good 
times  serving  and  eating  their  meals,  sitting  beside 
open  windows  through  which  they  watched  the  change 
ing  scenery  and  threw  wastage  from  their  mess-kits. 
After  each  meal  the  kitchen  police  provided  buckets  of 
hot  water  in  which  mess  utensils  were  washed  and  as 
soon  as  this  task  was  completed  normal  car  life  had 
always  been  resumed. 

The  chief  source  of  entertainment  during  the  trip 
had  been  afforded  by  pretty  girls  seen  in  each  town 
passed,  the  men  having  made  a  point  of  talking  to  as 
many  of  them  as  possible.  Many  a  lass  gave  her 
address  to  a  soldier  as  he  passed  through  her  town, 
with  the  coy  suggestion  that  she  would  be  interested  in 
knowing  whether  or  not  he  safely  arrived  in  France; 
and  thousands  of  addresses  of  the  soldiers  had  been 
left  to  these  girls  along  the  route.  Exchanges  of  ad- 
dresses produced  some  highly  laughable  correspond- 
ence  after  the   soldiers   had   arrived    In    France   and 


46  Trail  of  the  61st 

many    photographs    found    their    way    to    interested 
parties  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 

The  work  of  the  Red  Cross  had  been  universal- 
ly pleasing  to  the  soldiers;  candy,  cookies,  coffee, 
nuts,  fruits  of  all  kinds,  sandwiches  and  a  thousand 
other  kinds  of  sweets  had  been  served  at  the  vari- 
ous {^tops  on  the  trip.  Moreover,  the  men  had  re- 
ceived all  of  the  cards  they  could  mail  to  their  home- 
folks,  and  there  had  always  been  plenty  of  willing 
hands  to  post  the  cards  after  they  were  written. 
When  the  Red  Cross  women  could  not  take  care  of 
all  of  the  mail  the  soldier  boys  handed  to  them,  ac- 
commodating men  and  boys  came  to  their  rescue  and 
accepted  letters  and  cards  to  post. 

Every  town  or  city  entered  by  the  troops  had  al- 
ways proved  of  interest.  Someone  had  been  at  the 
station  to  welcome  and  to  give  a  hearty  God-speed 
to  the  boys  on  their  way  to  the  coast.  The  men  felt 
grateful  as  well  as  pleased  over  the  manner  in  which 
the  American  people  along  their  route  had  greeted 
them,  and  many  a  man  felt  that  he  had  been  really  ap- 
preciated for  the  first  time  in  his  life  while  on  this  trip, 
and  since  he  was  making  a  great  sacrifice  and  had 
been  torn  by  the  emotions  of  leaving  home  and  every- 
thing he  considered  dear,  these  manifestations  had 
touched  him  more  than  they  ordinarily  would  have 
done. 

The  men  appreciated  having  been  acclaimed  so 
freely  and  generously  by  the  "homefolks,"  on  their 
way  to  embark  for  Europe  and  the  battlefields,  and 
in  passing  through  the  scenes  of  so  many  historic  bat- 
tles of  the  Civil  war  their  imaginations  had  been 
fired  with  the  similarity  of  their  positions  and  those 
of  the  world-famous  veterans  of  the  Civil  war.     In 


Bowie  to  Mills.  47 

spite  of  themselves,  they  felt  that  they  were  doing  a 
great  thing  and  it  had  pleased  and  satisfied  their  vanity 
to  know  that  they  were  being  ''fussed  over." 

During  the  trip  the  men  had  shown  a  capacity 
to  make  themselves  comfortable  and  reasonably  hap- 
py even  under  unpleasant  conditions,  providing  they 
were  moving.  This  faculty  was  later  demonstrated 
on  many  occasions,  though  it  was  always  lost  if  they 
were  forced  to  remain  long  in  one  place.  They  proved 
the  oft  quoted  saying  that  '*a  soldier  is  never  so  happy 
as  when  he  is  moving  and  is  never  so  unhappy  as 
when  he  cannot  move  at  all." 

The  country  had  afforded  the  men  much  enter- 
tainment at  first,  but  as  the  trip  progressed  and  became 
more  or  less  of  a  grind,  they  had  become  tired  of  look- 
ing at  a  new  country  and  had  turned  to  themselves  for 
amusements.  They  had  played  cards,  told  stories  and 
perpetrated  many  practical  jokes  upon  one  anotner  uo 
break  the  monotony  of  the  long,  tiresome  days.  Then, 
too,  many  had  provided  themselves  with  books  before 
leaving  camp  and  these  book-lovers  had  enjoyed  long 
hours  with  their  authors,  if  so  fortunate  as  to  have 
secured  works  of  their  favorite  writers. 

Reading  had  not  been  universal,  by  any  means,  but 
those  who  had  enjoyed  themselves  in  such  manner  had 
done  so  with  little  molestation.  In  this  respect  the 
soldiers  had  proved  courteous,  never  having  attempted 
to  interfere  with  any  man  while  he  had  endeavored 
to  study  or  read. 

During  th'j  trip  every  man  had  become  hoarse, 
for  it  had  proved  to  be  impossible  to  pass  through 
wide-awake  cheering  towns  without  entering  into  the 
hilarity  and  good  humor  of  the  populace,  who  al- 
ways came  out  to  see  the  boys  pass  through.     A  fel- 


48  Trail  of  the  61st 

low  who  had  not  participated  in  the  merriment  at  this 
time  had  not  been  normal  and  one  of  the  bunch — 
either  too  sorrowful  over  his  home-leaving  or  a  ''poor 
stick/'  The  fellows  always  commenced  shouting  as 
soon  as  a  town  came  in  sight  and  had  continued  as 
long  as  any  trace  of  the  towns  remained  in  view\  Like- 
wise, they  had  lost  no  opportunity  in  properly  greet- 
ing all  attractive  maids  whom  they  were  so  fortunate 
as  to  have  seen  along  the  route.  The  smiling,  buxom 
negro  maids  had  afforded  much  fun  for  the  men,  too, 
as  they  had  never  tired  of  joking  these  dusky  southern 
belles.  They  had  made  love  to  all  girls,  both  white 
and  black,  and  because  of  their  swift  passage  through 
the  various  towns,  had  not  been  particular  to  which 
kind  they  devoted  their  attentions.  They  had  wanted 
a  jolly  time  and  had  not  been  choice  as  to  how  they 
w^ere  to  get  it. 

The  first  part  of  the  trip  had  not  been  so  inter- 
esting to  the  men  because  they  were  more  familiar 
with  the  topography  of  the  country  through  which 
they  had  passed  and  also  knew  the  type  of  people 
better  there  than  they  did  farther  east.  However, 
after  having  passed  the  Mississippi  river  at  Memphis, 
most  of  the  men  had  seen  the  Old  South  for  the  first 
time  and  just  as  soon  as  they  had  turned  north  from 
Virginia  and  had  begun  to  enter  New  England  all  had 
begun  to  see  entirely  new  country  and  new  methods  of 
life.  They  had  found  to  their  surprise  that  the  East, 
which  they  had  always  thought  so  up-to-date  and 
modern,  was  in  reality  much  more  backwoodsy  and 
unattractive  than  their  home  states.  Of  course,  the 
big  cities  had  produced  a  different  effect  by  showing 
the  men  that  they  were  entirely  unacquainted  with 
city  life  as  it  was  lived  in  the  East ;  but  they  had  soon 
observed  that  city  life  in  the  Southwest  was  infinitely 


Bowie  to  Mills.  49 

superior  to  that  of  the  East.  They  had  been  greatly 
benefitted  by  this  eye-opening  process  and  were 
thereby  made  so  much  better  satisfied  with  the  homes 
they  had  left  in  Texas  and  Oklahoma.  The  freedom 
and  breadth  of  their  home  land  impressed  them  as  nev- 
er before,  and  when  they  had  seen  the  congested  con- 
ditions prevailing  in  the  East  they  had  felt  that  the 
free  stretches  of  the  Southwest,  where  they  could 
ride  for  days  and  days  and  not  come  in  contact  with 
too  much  civilization,  was  much  preferable  to  this  con- 
gested country,  where  people  were  jammed  and 
packed  together.  The  mesquite  and  cactus  of  Mexico 
seemed  more  attractive  to  their  disgusted  eyes  than 
the  dingy,  dirty  streets  and  houses  of  these  cities. 

Yet  they  realized  that  the  East  was  to  be  their 
home  for  several  days,  until  they  could  be  pre- 
pared for  overseas,  and  they  had  been  keenly  inter- 
ested in  everything  they  saw  there.  They  had  noted 
the  streets,  houses,  street  cars,  automobiles  and  all 
other  things  to  be  seen  in  an  Eastern  city,  pledging 
themselves  to  become  more  familiar  with  these  things 
before  leaving  for  France. 

Hoboken  had  been  unusually  interesting  to  the 
men  because  it  was  here  for  the  first  time  that  they 
had  seen  the  waters  of  New  York  harbor.  The  little, 
worn  ferries,  which  had  looked  to  these  landsmen  to 
be  large  and  commodious,  had  been  scrutinized  with 
exceptional  care  for  they  had  seen  in  them  the  first 
representation  of  water  travel  and  had  been  anxious 
to  get  the  feel  of  the  water  as  the  ferries  glided 
through  it.  They  had  thought  that  the  movement  of 
the  ferries  would  likely  make  them  feel  slightly  sea- 
sick, few  realizing  at  that  time  just  how  different 
was  this  little  trip  across  the  Sound  to  the  long  trip 
across  the  Atlantic. 


50  Trail  of  the  61st 

Long  Island  had  been  a  surprise  to  almost  every 
man  in  the  Brigade,  for  all  had  expected  to  see  a 
small  island,  probably  covered  almost  exclusively  by 
a  camp,  instead  of  a  large  stretch  of  rolling  land,  on 
which  cities  and  towns  had  been  built  and  between 
which  trains  and  street  cars  passed  with  the  usual 
city  frequency.  They  had  seen  with  surprise  that 
they  were  to  be  loaded  on  trains  and  carried  over 
several  miles  of  country,  about  thirty  miles,  as  they 
had  later  learned.  Very  little  difference  had  been 
discerned  between  the  buildings  on  the  Long  Island 
side  or  the  Jersey  side,  which  caused  the  men 
to  ];;ealize  what  Brooklyn  meant  in  contradistinction 
to  New  York.  They  had  always  thought  of  New  York 
as  a  city  itself  and  not  as  being  composed  of  Brook- 
lyn also,  though,  they  had  never  before  realized  just 
what  Brooklyn  really  was. 

It  was  with  genuine  surprise  that  the  soldiers 
had  made  their  trip  across  Long  Island  to  Camp 
Mills,  and  their  surprise  had  not  been  lessened  one 
whit  by  the  camp  when  they  had  arrived  at  it.  They 
had  had  no  idea  at  Bowie  when  talking  about  Camp 
Mills  that  it  was  such  a  large  camp  and  on  such  a 
large  island. 


III. 

CAMP  MILLS 

By  July  22  the  entire  Brigade  was  established  at 
Camp  Mills,  the  111th  Ammunition  Train  being  the 
last  unit  to  arrive. 

The  Brigade  was  met  here  by  Brig.  Gen.  John  E. 
Stephens,  who  assumed  command  on  July  20,  Col. 
Arthur  R.  Sholars,  being  relieved  as  Brigade  Com- 
mander and  returned  to  duty  with  the  132d  F.  A.  No 
change  was  made  in  the  officer  personnel  of  Brigade 
Headquarters,  Major  Wilton  L.  Rutan,  being  retained 
as  Adjutant,  assisted  by  1st  Lieut.  B.  E.  Judson. 

The  first  acts  of  the  soldiers  after  they  had  been 
assigned  quarters  and  given  freedom  was  to  rush  to 
the  bath  houses,  where  they  removed  the  traces  of 
their  long  trip  across  the  continent.  The  bathing 
facilities  at  Camp  Mills  were  very  good  but  the  men 
soon  dreaded  to  get  under  the  showers  because  of  the 
cold  water.  No  warm  water  was  available,  however, 
and  they  had  to  bathe  in  this  cold  water  or  not  bathe 
at  all. 

The  first  day  or  two  in  Camp  Mills  were  spent  in 
attempting  to  familiarize  themselves  with  the  Camp ; 
but  after  making  several  trips  in  various  directions 
over  it  the  men  realized  that  their  efforts  along  this 
line  were  proving  futile,  because  of  the  tremendous 
size  of  the  place  and  the  short  time  they  were  to  be 
stationed  there.  Bowie  had  seemed  large  to  them  but 
when  they  learned  that  there  were  probably  90,000  or 


(51) 


52  Trad  of  the  61ci 

100,000  troops  stationed  at  Mills  they  realized  that 
this  was  one  of  the  largest  camps  in  the  United  States. 

While  a  tent  camp,  Mills  differed  considerably 
from  Camp  Bowie;  its  streets  were  broader,  its  tents 
large,  the  ground  on  which  it  was  located  was  more 
level  and  its  general  arrangement  was  more  com- 
pact and  convenient.  So  many  units  passed  through 
it  every  week  that  it  was  difficult  to  know  where 
each  unit  was  located,  though  by  means  of  careful 
street  numbering  and  the  establishment  of  definite 
avenues  of  traffic,  this  difficulty  was  greatly  reduced. 
The  men  soon  learned  that  they  must  carefully  follow 
map  directions  if  they  were  to  find  their  way  about 
with  any  deg^'ee  of  ease,  though  the  camp  was  so 
large  and  so  uniformly  constructed  that  some  became 
lost  even  when  this  care  was  exercised. 

A  considerable  amount  of  freedom  was  allowed 
troops  passing  through  Camp  Mills,  but  at  no  time 
was  there  permitted  a  relaxation  of  cleanliness.  It  is 
true  that  the  men  left  Mills  with  the  feeling  that  it 
was  about  as  dirty  a  camp  as  they  had  seen,  but  this 
attitude  was  the  result  of  the  great  amount  of  sand  and 
dust  that  constantly  blew  over  the  island.  This  could 
not  be  avoided,  though  every  effort  was  made  by 
camp  authorities  to  counteract  the  conditions  as  much 
as  possible;  sprinklers  were  kept  running  constantly 
and  most  of  the  streets  were  oiled  regularly.  Where 
such  a  large  number  of  men  were  assembled  it  was 
impossible  to  escape  annoyance  from  the  dust  which 
accumulated  in  spite  of  all  efforts  to  oppose  it. 

Mills  was  quite  happily  located  near  many  small 
towns  and  was  only  two  hour's  ride  from  New  York 
City.  The  closeness  of  this  great  city  provided  sol- 
diers with  entertainment,  many  people  of  New  York 
driving  out  to  Mills  in  automobiles  each  evening  to 


Camp  Mills. 


53 


COLONEL  CLAUDE   V.   BIRKHEAD, 
Commander   of    13Lst    F.    A. 
(Sec    Appendix.) 


54  Trail  of  the  61st 

take  the  boys  riding  in  the  city.  These  rides  were 
most  enjoyable,  and  the  men  from  the  South  were  really 
5^v,rprised  at  such  generous  hospitality  by  the  North- 
ern people,  whom  they  had  supposed  to  be  so  cold 
and  undemonstrative.  Nothing  could  have  proved 
niorp  Conclusively  that  the  old  feelings  of  the  Civil 
War  were  completely  erased  than  just  such  acts  on 
the  part  of  citizens  of  New  York  City. 

At  one  end  of  the  camp  was  located  the  Mineola 
Aviation  Field  and  it  was  a  common  sight  to  see  a 
number  of  planes  circling  over  camp,  doing  many 
stunts  and  affording  entertainment  for  the  soldiers. 
In  this  respect  the  men  of  the  61st  felt  that  Mills  was 
more  homelike,  for  at  Bowie  they  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  numbers  of  airplanes  over  their  camp.  The 
planes  at  Mills  differed  from  those  at  Bowie,  in  size 
and  shape,  many  of  them  being  larger  and  some  being 
seaplanes,  which  latter  type  the  men  had  not  seen  be- 
fore. Moreover,  it  was  noticeable  that  the  planes 
here  did  most  of  their  training  in  fighting  formation, 
while  at  Bowie  they  flew  about  at  random,  appar- 
ently unaccustomed  to  any  special  formation.  The 
aviators  seemed  to  fly  lower  over  the  camp  at  Mills 
than  at  any  other  place  where  the  61st  had  been 
quartered;  it  was  no  unusual  experience  to  be  awak- 
ened in  the  early  mornings  by  the  loud  purr  of  pow- 
erful motors  as  the  pilots  sailed  over  the  tents  at  a 
height  of  fifty  or  seventy-five  feet.  Sometimes  the 
men  felt  that  the  flyers  took  unnecessary  chances, 
both  for  themselves  and  for  the  soldiers,  by  flying  so 
close  to  the  tents,  but  in  most  instances  the  stunts  of 
the  aviators  appealed  to  the  sporting  instincts  of  the 
admiring  onlookers  who  often  burst  forth  into  cheers 
for  the  daring  and  skill  of  the  airmen. 


Camp  Mills.  55 

Shortly  after  the  arrival  of  all  units  of  the  61st 
Brigade,  overseas  equipment  was  issued.  The  clothes 
the  men  had  brought  with  them  were  turned  in  to  the 
Camp  Quartermaster  in  exchange  for  new  equipment. 
To  their  surprise  they  were  forced  to  exchange  their 
khaki  trousers  and  other  summer  clothes  for  heavy 
woolen  clothing,  the  latter  being  required  for  overseas 
men.  It  was  here,  too,  that  they  bade  farewell  to  their 
service  hats,  which  were  supplanted  by  dinky  little 
overseas  caps.  Likewise,  canvas  leggings  had  to  give 
way  to  spiral  puttees,  and  russet  shoes  were  exchanged 
for  heavy  hob-nails. 

They  were  allowed  to  retain  only  one  blanket, 
though  it  proved  to  be  entirely  insufficient  to  keep 
them  warm  at  Camp  Mills  even  at  this  time  of  year. 

Heavy  underwear,  one  pair  of  gloves,  four  pairs 
of  socks,  an  extra  pair  of  hob-nail  shoes,  an  overcoat 
and  a  raincoat,  completed  the  chief  items  of  their 
equipment. 

To  these  men  who  had  been  accustomed  to  the 
protection  of  broad  brimmed  service  hats,  the  little 
overseas  skull  caps  seemed  anything  but  satisfactory, 
either  bright  sunshine  or  rain  disclosing  that  they 
were  in  no  sense  a  head  protection.  It  took  only  a 
few  days,  however,  for  the  men  to  become  accus- 
tomed to  their  new  headgear  after  which  they  would 
not  have  exchanged  for  the  service  hats  if  given  the 
opportunity. 

When  the  soldiers  received  their  first  winter 
equipment,  clothes  were  spread  at  random  over  most 
of  the  camp  occupied  by  the  Brigade,  and  Supply 
Sergeants  were  kept  busy  in  seeing  their  men  prop- 
erly equipped.  Difficulty  was  encountered  in  securing 
proper  sizes  in  clothes,  many  men  being  compelled  to 


56  Trail  of  the  61st 

leave  for  France  with  ill-fitting  uniforms  and  poorly 
supplied  with  other  necessary  apparel.  For  some 
reason,  which  has  never  been  satisfactorily  explained, 
the  order  to  turn  in  all  bedding  except  one  bed-sack 
and  blanket  was  received  and  the  men,  under  protest, 
were  forced  to  accept  the  ruling. 

They  were  assured,  however,  that  the  extra 
clothing  they  were  turning  in  was  to  be  placed  in  the 
holds  of  the  vessels  on  which  they  were  to  sail  and 
that  it  would  be  reissued  to  them  when  they  arrived 
in  France.  History  records  that  what  really  hap- 
pened was  as  follows :  The  clothes  were  placed  in  the 
holds  of  the  ships,  but  upon  arrival  in  France  were 
issued  to  men  going  to  the  Front  and  the  men  of  the 
61st  never  saw  them  again.  Even  woolens,  whether 
issued  by  the  Red  Cross  or  received  as  presents,  were 
taken  up  and  many  men  saw  nothing  further  of  them, 
though  after  they  arrived  in  France  considerable 
grumbling  resulted  from  this  injustice. 

Especial  instructions  were  issued  to  all  men  about 
the  personal  property  they  were  to  be  allowed  to  take 
over  with  them,  in  almost  every  instance  the  advice 
being  that  not  a  thing  foreign  to  the  absolute  allow- 
ance from  the  Q.  M.  could  possibly  *'get  by."  Several 
of  the  bolder  spirits  refused  to  barken  to  this  advice 
and  maneuvered  to  keep  their  stuff  with  them.  Some 
used  special  boxes  which  they  painted  in  military 
colors  and  labeled  in  such  a  way  as  to  alleviate  sus- 
picion on  the  part  of  the  supposedly  vigilant  embark- 
ation ofl^cials  and  others  boldly  rolled  their  valuables 
in  their  packs  and  trusted  to  luck  to  get  them  past  the 
authorities  when  they  were  being  loaded  on  the  ships. 
All  of  these  free  spirits  were  successful  in  taking 
their  property  with  them,  for  instead  of  finding  it 
difficult  to  get  material  aboard  ships  at  the  docks,  the 


Camp  Mills.  57 

men  found  that  they  could  have  taken  almost  any- 
thing with  them.  Both  officers  and  men  alike  were 
badly  fooled  in  this  respect  and  promised  to  remem- 
ber how  they  had  been  hoodwinked,  when  they  started 
home.  It  is  a  matter  of  record,  however,  that  most  of 
them  were  so  afraid  of  doing  something  that  would 
serve  to  hold  them  longer  in  France  that  upon  re- 
ceiving orders  to  embark  for  home  they  were  unwill- 
ing to  attempt  the  carrying  of  questionable  property 
aboard  with  them. 

But  most  men  were  willing  to  accept  any  restric- 
tions in  order  to  get  overseas,  for  they  realized  that 
military  rules  were  necessary  in  the  handling  of  great 
numbers  of  men  at  the  ports  of  embarkation.  They 
subjected  themselves  to  more  inconvenience  in  the 
army  than  in  any  other  place,  because  they  had  little 
voice  in  their  own  control  and  were  also  unwilling  to 
hinder  in  any  way  the  carrying  forward  of  the  main 
work  of  the  army.  This  was  especially  true  where 
the  men  were  in  sympathy  with  the  activities  of  the 
nation  and  were  desirous  of  doing  all  within  their 
power  to  see  the  war  fought  to  a  successful  conclusion. 

During  the  war  the  army  was  made  into  a  great 
heartless  machine,  but  there  was  not  a  man  in  it 
who  felt  that  it  could  be  otherwise,  since  he 
realized  that  only  by  means  of  such  an  organization 
could  our  nation  successfully  carry  on  its  part  of  the 
war. 

Life  in  Mills  while  not  very  strenuous  was  con- 
fining, for  all  men  had  to  remain  in  their  quarters 
ready  to  be  called  out  at  any  time  orders  were  issued 
for  special  duty  to  be  performed  by  them.  They 
were  inspected  regularly  every  day,  both  for  disease 
and  for  lice,  and  a  portion  of  every  day  was  spent  in 


58 


Trail  of  the  61st 


1^  ff/^vvvW 


'  v^yw^^''^^^  fivav  fi^^^jfy  -^"W  ". 


LT.  COLONEL  STEVENSON, 

Commander  of  111th  Ammunition   Train. 

(See  Appendix.) 


Camp  Mills.  59 

drill.  Also,  substantial  details  were  furnished  daily 
to  the  camp  authorities  to  assist  in  routine  duties 
of  the  camp. 

Whenever  opportunity  permitted,  and  in  many 
instances  when  it  did  not  permit,  the  men  went  to 
New  York  City.  The  commanding  officers  cf  most 
units  showed  a  proper  spirit  of  helpfulness  by  doing 
all  they  could  to  assist  their  men  in  visiting  New  York 
City.  Many  passes  were  issued  and  practically  all  of 
the  men  in  the  Brigade  saw  New  York  before  leavmg 
Mills. 

The  City  proved  a  revelation  to  the  Southerners, 
for  a  great  many  of  them  before  entering  the  army, 
had  spent  their  lives  on  farms,  and  were  entirely  un- 
familiar with  city  life,  especially  the  type  of  life  dis- 
played in  a  city  like  New  York.  Very  few  of  them 
had  been  East  before  and  all  were  eager  to  spend  as 
much  time  as  possible  in  the  great  City. 

Those  who  did  visit  New  York  threaded  the  busy 
streets,  taking  in  the  sights  of  Fifth  Avenue  and 
Broadway,  names  almost  as  familiar  to  them  as  street 
names  in  their  home  towns.  Everything  they  saw 
interested  them;  the  magnificent  automobiles  speed- 
ing along  the  thoroughfares,  the  great  street  cars, 
packed  and  jammed  at  all  times,  people  of  all  descrip- 
tions from  the  poorest  beggars  to  the  most  richly 
dressed  inhabitants  of  Wall  Street,  the  window  dis- 
plays, theaters,  subways  and  thousands  of  other 
things,  all  fired  their  imagination  and  gave  them  a 
sense  of  bewildering  exhilaration  over  being  in  the 
heart  of  the  nation's  metropolis. 

The  soldier  arriving  in  New  York  City  with  a 
pass  in  his  pocket  and  money  to  spend  was  indeed 
fortunate,  for  he  had  the  whole  world  before  him.    He 


60  Trail  of  the  61st 

could  attend  a  metropolitan  show;  he  could  go  riding 
in  one  of  the  city's  wonderfully  equipped  automobiles ; 
or  if  he  so  desired  he  could  go  to  the  parks  or  botani- 
cal gardens — the  city  afforded  him  opportunity  to 
entertain  himself  in  any  way  he  chose.  His  time 
was  all  his  own,  his  money  was  good  and  he  could 
get  all  possible  enjoyment  out  of  life  before  embark- 
ing for  France.  To  say  that  he  enjoyed  himself  is 
trite ;  he  did  much  more :  he  had  the  time  of  his  life. 

It  is  surprising  how  the  men  from  prohibition 
states  restrained  themselves  in  New  York  City.  Of 
course,  they  realized  that  in  case  they  became  intoxi- 
cated it  would  be  next  to  impossible  for  them  to  find 
their  way  back  to  camp,  and  to  fail  to  return  to  camp 
was  suicidal,  yet  many  men,  placed  as  they  were, 
would  have  been  unable  to  control  their  appetites  and 
would  have  become  drunk  regardless  of  the  conse- 
quences. There  was  some  drunkenness,  of  course,  for 
in  every  group  of  men,  wherever  assembled,  there  are 
always  some  who  are  unable  to  control  themselves. 

New  York  was  not  the  only  point  of  interest  vis- 
ited by  the  soldiers  of  the  61st;  Coney  Island,  At- 
lantic City,  Hoboken,  and  the  many  little  towns  ad- 
jacent to  Camp  Mills,  engaged  the  attention  of  the 
men.  There  were  ample  places  for  the  soldiers  to  visit 
providing  they  had  the  freedom  and  money  to  do  so. 

Coney  Island  seemed  to  appeal  to  the  soldiers 
more  than  any  of  the  other  pleasure  spots,  and  hosts 
of  men  from  the  camp  "took  it  in"  every  night.  These 
men  returned  each  morning  with  most  marvelous  tales 
about  the  wonderful  things  they  had  seen  at  Coney 
Island,  and  they  discussed  the  boat  rides  they  had 
taken,  the  sensations  afforded  by  the  "ocean  waves," 
how  exciting  had  been  their  trips  in  the  giant  Ferris 
wheel,  and  so  on,  until  men  who  had  not  been  there 


Camp  Mills.  61 

swore  that  if  opportunity  presented  itself  they  would 
surely  see  that  wonderful  place. 

The  same  sentiment  prevailed  with  regard  to 
Atlantic  City,  where  bathing  enthusiasts  were  given 
the  pleasure  of  taking  dips  in  the  ocean.  Men  went 
to  Atlantic  City  in  hordes  and  it  seemed  to  be  the 
universal  opinion  among  them  that  such  another 
wonderful  amusement  spot  could  not  be  found  on 
the  globe. 

To  the  soldiers  so  unfortunate  as  not  to  be  al- 
lowed to  leave  camp  or  who  because  of  lack  of  funds 
could  not  visit  any  of  the  noted  pleasure  resorts, 
Hempstead,  Jamaica  and  Mineola  offered  opportuni- 
ties to  get  away  from  camp  for  a  few  hours  and  to 
enjoy  the  atmosphere  of  town.  These  little  towns  were 
visited  by  thousands,  who  literally  overran  them,  buy- 
ing soft  drinks,  attending  shows  and  otherwise  spend- 
ing their  time  enjoyably. 

Adjacent  to  the  camp  were  located  a  number  of 
stores  and  eating  places,  where  the  soldiers  could  buy 
little  articles  of  clothing  and  such  food  as  they  de- 
sired, but  the  prices  charged  by  the  keepers  of  these 
places  were  so  exorbitant  that  the  soldiers  felt  they 
were  being  robbed  everytime  they  did  any  trading 
there.  Regardless  of  this  condition,  however,  they 
thronered  these  spots  each  evening  in  truly  enormous 
crowds. 

The  camp  also  afforded  ample  means  of  enter- 
tainment, some  of  the  theaters  and  Y.  M.  C.  A.  huts 
comparing  favorably  with  the  more  costly  play  houses 
in  the  towns.  The  builders  of  Mills  had  seen  to  it 
that  nothing  was  left  undone  to  make  the  camp  com- 
plete for  soldiers  who  passed  through  enroute  to 
Europe,  and  the  men  left  the  United   States  feeling 


62  Trail  of  the  61st 

that  they  had  been  very  pleasantly  treated  during 
their  last  few  days  in  the  country.  It  seemed  that  the 
camp  authorities  had  caught  the  vision  of  the  soldiers 
as  they  made  final  preparations  for  their  work  over- 
seas and  had  realized  how  a  fellow  must  feel  during 
the  last  few  days  before  leaving  his  home  country,  for 
Camp  Mills  provided  especially  for  the  comfort  of 
both  his  body  and  mind. 

While  entertainment  was  the  prime  motive  of 
most  of  the  visiting  in  New  York  City,  Coney  Island 
and  other  noted  pleasure  spots,  many  of  the  men 
realized  that  they  were  having  the  opportunity  of  a 
life-time  in  being  allowed  to  acquaint  themselves  with 
the  East  and  to  secure  first  hand  information  about 
it.  They  felt  that  in  all  likelihood  this  would  be  their 
only  opportunity  to  learn  about  this  part  of  the 
United  States  and  they  desired  to  utilize  their  oppor- 
tunity to  the  fullest  extent.  Their  entertainment  was 
of  the  right  sort,  for  not  only  did  they  have  good 
timesj,  enjoying  themselves  as  fully  as  the  fellows 
who  were  out  for  a  good  time  only,  but  they  also  made 
their  entertainment  a  matter  of  business  and  derived 
much  benefit  from  it. 

These  men  were  not  content  to  see  Fifth  Avenue 
and  Broadway  only,  but  they  secured  automobiles  and 
drove  over  the  city;  they  visited  the  great  libraries; 
they  went  to  see  the  Botanical  Gardens  and  great 
zoos;  they  became  acquainted  with  the  subway  sys- 
tem, not  merely  as  riders  but  also  as  persons  inter- 
ested in  knowing  its  ramifications,  size  and  general 
usefulness;  they  attended  some  good  plays  and  musi- 
cal numbers;  they  lunched  in  some  of  the  noted  cafes; 
in  fine,  they  did  all  they  could  to  learn  as  much  as 
possible  about  New  York  City. 


Camp  Mills.  63 

While  in  Mills  the  men  spent  so  much  money 
that  by  the  time  they  left  for  France  very  few  had 
any  funds  to  spend  on  the  voyage.  This  fact  mili- 
tated against  them  in  many  v^ays  v^hile  they  v^ere  en- 
route  to  Europe  and  many  a  man  wished  he  had  not 
been  so  free  with  his  money  while  visiting  ''Little  Old 
Noo  York." 

After  the  men  had  been  at  Camp  Mills  for  five 
or  six  days  they  began  to  grow  restless  for  embark- 
ation orders;  rumors  again  became  prevalent  and  the 
men  were  deluged  with  all  kinds  of  reports.  But  it 
was  not  until  July  29  that  orders  were  received  start- 
ing them  on  their  long  expected  voyage. 

At  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  29th  the 
soldiers  of  the  Brigade,  under  full  pack  and  thor- 
oughly equipped  for  overseas  duty,  commenced  filing 
out  of  camp  to  the  trains  which  were  waiting  to  trans- 
fer them  over  Long  Island,  to  the  transport  docks. 
Being  quickly  loaded  on  these  trains  they  were  hauled 
the  thirty  miles  to  the  docks  and  loaded  on  ferry  boats 
which  took  them  to  the  Jersey  shore.  Here  they 
were  arranged  according  to  carefully  prepared  pass- 
enger lists,  which  had  been  in  the  hands  of  the  port 
authorities  for  several  days  awaiting  their  arrival, 
and  were  immediately  marched  to  the  piers,  along- 
side of  which  lay  the  great  transports  which  were  to 
carry  them  to  France. 

While  waiting  for  the  opportunity  of  going 
aboard  the  ships,  the  men  were  treated  to  cookies, 
coffee,  tobacco  and  "safe  arrival"  post  cards  by  Red 
Cross  women.  This  was  their  first  real  experience 
with  the  Red  Cross  but  proved  to  be  only  an  intro- 
duction to  the  many  kindnesses  they  were  to  receive 
from  that  splendid  organization. 


64  Trail  of  the  61st 

Aside  from  the  time  occupied  with  the  Red  Cross 
in  receiving  gifts — chiefly  food,  which  the  soldiers 
spent  some  time  in  the  enjoyment  of  eating — the  men 
passed  several  hours  of  unpleasant  waiting  on  the 
piers.  As  soon  as  they  were  unloaded  from  the  fer- 
ries, they  were  formed  in  columns,  care  being  devoted 
to  the  proper  location  of  each  man  so  that  he  would 
appear  in  his  place  when  his  name  was  called  from 
the  passenger  lists,  and  they  were  started  toward 
the  ships.  Progress  was  very  slow  here,  however, 
due  to  the  large  number  of  troops  being  taken  aboard 
the  liners,  and  the  men  had  to  be  satisfied  with  a 
snail's  pace.  Heavy  packs  were  shifted  from  floor  to 
shoulders  and  from  shoulders  to  floor  so  many  times 
that  the  men  became  very  weary,  especially  since  no 
man  was  allowed  to  sit  down  even  for  a  moment,  the 
officers  not  knowing  when  their  units  would  be  or- 
dered to  embark  and  therefore  were  more  or  less  nerv- 
ous and  hard  on  their  men.  Moreover,  the  men  had 
tc  move  so  often  they  could  not  get  settled  even  a  mom- 
ent until  required  to  move  forward  a  few  more  inches, 
every  inch  of  space  in  the  piers  being  utilized. 

They  were  constantly  reminded  by  their  officers 
to  be  careful  when  their  time  came  to  pass  the  Em- 
barkation Officers,  for  if  they  did  not  respond  prop- 
erly to  their  names  when  called  they  would  not  be 
allowed  to  embark  but  would  be  returned  to  Camp 
Mills  and  later  sent  over  to  France  with  a  casual  out- 
fit. This  possibility  was  sufficient  within  itself  to 
cause  the  men  to  be  careful,  for  every  man  realized 
what  it  would  mean  to  be  separated  from  his  com- 
rades and  placed  in  a  casual  group,  and  this,  com- 
bined with  their  intense  desire  to  get  to  France  and 
participate  in  the  war,  made  them  as  docile  as 
lambs.      Every    man    religiously    complied    with    the 


Camp  Mills,  65 

orders  of  his  officers  and  was  "Johnny  on  the  spot" 
when  his  name  was  called. 

While  being  ferried  from  Long  Island  to  Ho- 
boken,  the  troops  had  noted  with  interest  the  many 
ocean  liners  docked  at  the  various  piers,  but  their 
attention  was  directed  especially  to  one  giant  ship, 
which  so  towered  above  all  the  others  as  to  make  it 
conspicuous.  Word  was  passed  along  the  line  that 
this  was  the  Leviathan,  the  old  Vaterland,  which  had 
been  taken  from  the  Germans  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war.  They  looked  at  this  ship  with  awe  hoping  they 
would  be  fortunate  enough  to  embark  upon  her.  They 
knew  her  record — ^how  she  had  been  able  to  defy  the 
many  German  submarines  that  had  attempted  to  sink 
her  on  her  various  trips  across  the  Atlantic  and  that 
her  commander  had  refused  to  bother  with  convoys, 
since  the  speed  of  his  ship  was  so  great  that  no  convoy- 
ing ship  could  keep  pace  with  her.  In  fact,  it  was  in 
the  Leviathan's  speed  alone  that  the  naval  authorities 
depended  for  her  safe  threading  of  the  dangerous  Eu- 
ropean waters. 

When  final  orders  came  and  each  unit  of  troops 
had  safely  passed  the  embarkation  officers,  the  men 
made  it  their  first  duty  to  ascertain  the  name  of  the 
ship  they  had  boarded,  all  except  the  111th  Trench 
Mortar  Battery  being  disappointed  in  their  hopes  of 
being  placed  on  the  Leviathan.  The  Brigade  was  di- 
vided among  the  three  ships,  U.  S.  S.  Siboney,  U.  S. 
S.  Calamares  and  U.  S.  S.  Orizaba. 

The  men  were  quartered  in  small  areas  in  each 
ship  and  were  therefore  greatly  congested,  the  bunks 
they  occupied  being  iron  frames  about  three  feet  by 
six  feet,  over  which  heavy  canvas  was  stretched,  ar- 
ranged in  tiers  of  three  each,  the  tiers  being  placed 


66  Trail  of  the  61st 

in  such  manner  that  two  men  slept  practically  side  by 
side,  divided  only  by  the  central  iron  bar  which 
formed  the  inner  frame  of  the  bunks.  These  tiers  of 
double  bunks  ran  lengthwise  of  each  deck,  normally 
from  five  to  ten  of  them,  separated  by  narrow  aisles, 
filling  each  deck.  When  the  size  of  these  sleeping 
decks,  each  of  which  was  about  forty  feet  wide  by 
three  hundred  feet  long,  accommodating  eight  or  ten 
triple  decked  double  tiers  extending  the  full  three 
hundred  feet  in  length,  is  taken  into  consideration  it 
can  be  realized  what  a  large  number  of  troops  were 
thrown  together  in  each  little  space. 

The  soldiers  were  allowed  to  come  up  on  deck 
and  walk  about  but  none  were  allowed  to  leave  the 
ships  during  the  fifty-two  hours  in  which  the  loaded 
ships  lay  in  the  harbor,  and  they  became  thoroughly 
familiar  with  their  surroundings  and  learned  for  the 
first  time  how  a  ship  was  constructed  and  what  a 
huge  task  it  was  to  keep  it  in  a  spick  and  span  con- 
dition. The  sailors  were  also  interesting  studies, 
though  the  military  men  stood  in  considerable  awe  of 
their  naval  brothers.  Certain  places  were  roped  off 
on  each  deck  and  the  soldiers  soon  learned  to  keep 
away  from  them,  as  they  were  sacred  to  the  sailors. 

Before  sailing  the  men  became  thoroughly  tired 
and  wondered  when  they  were  ever  to  get  started  on 
their  ocean  voyage.  They  prayed  for  an  early  depart- 
ure, and  their  prayers  were  finally  answered  by  a  tardy 
departure  on  the  second  day  after  they  went  aboard 
the  ships. 


IV. 

THE  VOYAGE  TO  FRANCE 

About  two  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  July  31st, 
1918,  sailing  orders  were  received  by  the  five  ships 
comprising  the  convoy  which  was  to  carry  the  61st 
Field  Artillery  to  France.  Men  on  the  ships  had  been 
expecting  the  order  for  several  hours  but  did  not 
know  it  had  been  given  until  they  saw  harbor  tug 
boats  come  along-side  the  ocean  liners  to  attach  haw- 
sers with  which  to  tow  the  big  ships  from  the  docks.. 
Every  movement  of  the  tugs  was  watched  with  the 
keenest  interest  and  though  the  soldiers  were  ordered 
to  show  no  demonstrations  of  excitement  they  swarmed 
over  the  decks  and  hung  over  the  rails  to  see  every- 
thing that  was  being  done  in  this  great  adventure  of 
theirs. 

The  tug  boats,  after  having  attached  hawsers  to 
iron  pillars  on  the  decks  of  the  ships,  started  gently 
toward  the  channel  of  the  harbor  and  the  great  ships, 
quivering  and  trembling,  were  gradually  drawn  away 
from  the  docks  until  they  settled  down  into  the  water 
of  the  channel. 

Except  for  the  fact  that  they  had  just  witnessed 
the  work  of  the  tugs  and  could  see  the  water  of  the 
harbor  apparently  floating  slowly  past  the  sides  of 
their  vessels  the  soldiers  would  have  been  unable  to 
know  that  the  big  vessels  were  moving.  They  settled 
so  gradually  into  the  water  and  cut  through  it  with 
such  ease  that  it  seemed  to  the  inexperienced  land- 
men that  an  ocean  voyage  certainly  could  not  be  as 

(67) 


68  ,  Trail  of  the  61st 

disagreeable  as  they  had  always  been  led  to  believe. 
They  said  to  themselves  that  ships  as  large  as  the 
ones  they  were  on,  which  took  to  the  water  in  the 
natural  way  they  did,  certainly  could  not  be  bothered 
much  by  ordinary  ocean  waves. 

These  thoughts  passed  fleetingly  through  their 
minds  while  the  vessels  were  moving  toward  the  har- 
bor channel  and  were  being  adjusted  to  make  way 
under  their  own  steam.  But  after  the  liners  had 
gotten  well  under  way  and  had  sailed  majestically  up 
the  harbor,  past  Staten  Island,  where  the  Statue  of 
Liberty  had  seemed  to  smile  a  last  farewell,  the  pre- 
liminary excitement  subsided  and  the  seriousness  of 
v/hat  they  were  undertaking  occupied  the  thoughts  of 
many.  They  realized  that  their  past  was  probably 
forever  cut  from  them,  that  the  established  landmarks 
of  their  lives  were  slowly  passing  from  their  vision; 
they  understood,  for  the  first  time  since  they  had  been 
in  the  service,  that  they  were  starting  on  a  long, 
dangerous  journey  over  three  thousand  miles  of  sea, 
protected  only  by  the  two  battle  cruisers  and  one  sub- 
marine chaser  which  formed  part  of  the  convoy. 

In  passing  the  Statue  of  Liberty  the  men  seemed 
deeply  touched,  for  months  afterwards,  while  under- 
going many  hardships  in  France,  they  often  referred 
to  the  Statue  of  Liberty  and  seemed  to  have  retained 
a  vivid  impression  of  this  wonderful  guardian  of  New 
York  harbor.  A  great  number  waved  actual  adieus 
to  Miss  Liberty,  but  whether  or  not  any  demonstra- 
tions were  made  by  individuals,  she  was  the  center 
of  interest  for  all  on  board  the  ocean  bound  ships. 

The  convoy,  composed  of  five  troop  ships,  two 
battle  cruisers  and  one  submarine  chaser,  left  Ho- 
boken  under  the  guidance  of  a  pilot  cutter  which  led 
the  convoy  out  into  the  harbor  until  about  dusk,  dur- 


The  Voyage  to  France.  69 

ing  which  time  the  point  of  Long  Island  was  rounded. 

Brigade  Headquarters  Detachment  and  the  131st 
Regiment  sailed  on  the  U.  S.  S.  Siboney.  The  132nd 
Regiment  and  the  111th  Ammunition  Train  were 
aboard  the  U.  S.  S.  Orizaba.  The  133rd  Regiment 
sailed  on  the  U.  S.  S.  Calamares.  The  111th  Trench 
Motor  Battery  did  not  embark  with  this  convoy,  but 
sailed  three  days  later  on  the  U.  S.  S.  Leviathan. 

During  the  time  they  had  been  aboard  their  ships 
in  the  harbor  the  men  of  the  61st  had  become  more 
or  less  accustomed  to  their  quarters  and  to  ship  life, 
but  shortly  after  the  voyage  was  started  they  quickly 
learned  that  the  sailor  in  harbor  was  a  creature  much 
different  from  the  sailor  at  sea. 

They  saw  to  their  surprise  that  the  sailors  were 
busily  occupied  all  hours  of  the  day  and  night  with  their 
work  and  it  early  became  evident  that  the  naval  men 
v/ere  not  too  thoughtful  of  their  military  guests.  When 
naval  officers  ordered,  the  soldiers  learned  to  obey,  al- 
most as  promptly  as  the  sailors  did,  and  they  were  as- 
sisted in  this  education  by  petty  officers  and  burly 
sailors,  who  willingly  interpreted  the  orders  for  the 
soldiers. 

Moreover,  the  difference  between  the  food  that 
was  served  to  the  sailors  and  that  served  to  the  soldiers 
impressed  the  soldiers  with  the  importance  of  the  naval 
men,  and  the  result  was  that  they  tried  to  ingratiate 
themselves  into  the  good  graces  of  the  middies.  They 
found  to  their  sorrow,  however,  that  there  was  noth- 
ing sympathetic  or  philanthropic  about  the  hard-heart- 
eo  sailors,  who  apparently  took  delight  in  keeping  the 
soldiers  away  from  the  naval  dining  rooms  and  drink- 
ing places  and  refused  even  to  be  approached  unless 
they  were  paid  for  their  trouble. 


70  Trail  of  the  61st 

The  soldiers  were  amazed  at  the  wholesale  trans- 
fer of  government  property  between  the  sailors  and 
gullible  soldiers.  But  even  the  most  virtuous  and 
shocked  waived  their  conscientious  scruples  and  pray- 
erfully appealed  to  the  sailors  for  food,  regardless  of 
the  price  they  were  forced  to  pay  or  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  food  was  procured,  before  they  finished  the 
voyage.  Their  starved  condition  made  them  willing 
to  do  almost  anything  to  get  food. 

The  soldiers  kept  practically  all  passageways 
choked  because  of  their  moving  about  on  the  ships  and 
when  petty  officers  appeared  on  deck  it  became  custo- 
mary for  them  to  yell  "gangway,  for  a  petty  officer." 
This  became  so  frequent  as  to  be  finally  adopted  as  a 
military  figure  of  speech  which  later  was  used  fre- 
quently after  the  soldiers  arrived  in  France. 

The  center  of  interest  for  the  first  few  hours  at  sea 
was  the  ever-changing,  mysterious  ocean  and  the  new 
and  elating  sensation  of  being  on  water.  No  thought  of 
danger  was  in  the  minds  of  the  men  while  they  were 
in  home  waters,  for  the  convoy  sailed  down  the  At- 
lantic coast  within  a  few  miles  of  land. 

The  heat  was  noticeable  even  in  New  York  har- 
bor but  as  the  ships  moved  down  the  coast  toward  the 
south  it  became  intensely  oppressive  and  the  men 
kept  to  the  decks  as  much  as  possible.  They  were  as- 
sembled on  the  decks  the  first  evening  to  receive 
orders-  about  ship  regulations  and  to  locate  their 
places  for  abandon  ship  drill  and  deck  exercises,  and 
as  nearly  as  possible  remained  there  during  the 
voyage. 

In  New  York  harbor  the  serving  of  meals  had  not 
been  disagreeable  to  the  soldiers,  though  the  quality 
of   the   food    served   and   the    manner    of    serving   it 


The  Voyage  to  France.  71 

scarcely  appealed  to  their  appetites.  But,  upon  going 
below  at  8  o'clock  to  mess  on  the  first  evening  out  the 
men  realized  that  what  had  seemed  poor  food  in  New 
York  harbor  was  most  excellent  in  comparison  with 
what  they  were  to  be  served  while  at  sea. 

The^mess  halls  were  large  rooms  in  the  hold  of 
the  ships  and  the  men  mere  herded  into  them  like 
hogs  and  cattle.  The  food  was  served  by  Kitchen  Po- 
lice selected  from  the  soldiers,  and  was  made  up 
chiefly  of  evil  tasting  slum,  potatoes  with  the  jackets 
on  and  occasionally  an  extra  vegetable  or  two,  all 
served  together  in  a  mess  kit  in  sparing  quantities. 
Long  narrow  food  troughs,  which  were  built  to  about 
the  height  of  a  man's  waist,  were  placed  so  close  to- 
gether in  the  mess  halls  that  the  passage  ways  be- 
tween them  were  incapable  of  accommodating  two 
men  back  to  back  and  those  who  ate  were  forced  to 
sandwich  themselves  into  the  limited  space  as  satis- 
factorily as  possible. 

To  the  rear  of  the  mess  halls  were  stationed  nar- 
row galvanized  troughs  in  which  boiling  water  was 
constantly  running  from  pipes.  As  the  men  finished 
their  meals  they  were  supposed  to  wash  their  mess 
kits  in  the  hot  water  of  these  troughs  and  to  file  out 
of  the  mess  halls,  returning  to  their  quarters. 

Meal  tickets,  printed  in  such  a  manner  that  they 
contained  places  to  be  punched  for  three  meals  each 
day,  were  issued  to  the  soldiers  shortly  after  they 
came  aboard  their  ships  and  it  was  required  that 
every  man  present  his  ticket  to  a  mess  oflftcer  at  the 
door  of  his  mess  hall,  at  each  meal,  and  have  it  prop- 
erly punched  before  being  allowed  to  enter.  This 
system  proved  to  be  the  worst  sort  of  inconvenience, 
the  facilities  for  serving  meals  being  so  inadequate 


72  Trail  of  the  61st 

that  it  took  two  or  three  hours  to  get  all  the  troops 
served,  and  experience  soon  taught  the  men  that  "first 
come  first  served."  As  a  result  lines  were  formed  in 
the  passage  ways  of  the  ships  leading  to  the  mess  halls 
often  an  hour  or  two  before  the  time  scheduled  for 
meals.  The  congestion  caused  by  this  jamming, 
coupled  with  the  close  living  quarters,  caused  the  men 
to  become  hot  before  reaching  the  mess  halls  and 
when  they  did  finally  arrive  they  were  confronted 
with  hot  steam  from  the  washing  troughs  and  such 
foul  odors  from  poorly  cooked  and  unappetizing  food 
that  their  appetities  were  ruined. 

Even  if  a  man  entered  the  mess  hall  with  a  keen 
appetite  he  was  indeed  fortunate  to  succeed  in  get- 
ing  past  the  serving  stand  in  safety;  but  in  case  he 
was  so  fortunate  and  did  retain  his  food  and  his  appe- 
tite, he  was  disappointed,  for  either  a  considerable 
amount  of  the  food  served  to  him  was  impossible  to 
eat  or  it  was  served  in  such  small  quantities  that  it 
failed  to  satisfy  his  hunger.  Yet  he  dare  not  attempt 
to  secure  a  second  serving,  for  stern,  pity-proof  offi- 
cers were  planted  at  advantageous  points  in  the  mess 
hall  to  see  that  he  didn't  receive  an  extra  amount  of 
food.  But  regardless  of  all  the  precautionary  meth- 
ods used  by  officers  of  the  mess  hall,  many  men  car- 
ried their  drying  cloths  with  them  and  after  having 
washed  their  mess  kits  covertly  dried  them  and 
slipped  into  line  between  two  good-natured  fellows, 
thereby  reaching  the  serving  posts  a  second  time. 

During  the  first  day  or  two,  however,  there  was 
not  the  bustle  in  the  mess  halls  or  the  clamor  for  food  as 
just  described;  on  the  contrary  these  halls  were  prac- 
tically abandoned,  the  place  of  chief  interest  being 
the  rails  on  deck.  Many  soldiers,  upon  leaving  New 
York  harbor,  laughed  at  the  possibility  of  becoming 


The  Voyage  to  France.  73 

sea-sick,  as  the  ships  glided  so  smoothly  through  the 
water  that  they  could  not  understand  how  such  a  thing 
could  be  possible;  but  after  they  had  eaten  their  first 
six  o'clock  meal  at  sea  these  stalwart  gentlemen  were 
to  be  found  on  deck  ''enjoying  the  evening  sea 
breezes.-'  A  marked  change  was  noticeable  in  them : 
If  one  had  been  especially  vivacious  and  possibly  a 
bit  boisterous  up  to  this  time  he  was  seen  to  be  either 
leaning  over  the  rail  gazing  into  the  briny  waters 
with  a  pensive  expression  in  his  eyes  and  as  the  boys 
called  it,  "sort  of  white  about  the  gills."  Or  he 
might  be  seen  sitting  stiffly  upon  some  part  of  the 
deck,  gazing  straight  before  him,  with  a  set  expres- 
sion on  his  face  and  his  complexion  turned  to  a  pe- 
culiar, sallow  paleness.  In  either  instance  if  you  ap- 
proached him  "to  inquire  about  the  weather"  he 
would  reward  you  with  a  smile  or  a  sheepish  grin, 
and  perchance,  if  the  spirit  was  heavy  upon  him,  he 
might  thrust  you  roughly  aside  and  make  a  dash  for 
the  rail,  shouting  as  he  ran,  "make  way  for  me," 
"gangway,"  or  "let  me  through,"  after  which  he 
would  do  his  full  duty  to  the  kind  fishes  who  were 
waiting  below. 

Sea-sickness  became  so  universal  on  the  first  eve- 
ning that  rail  space  on  the  deck  became  entirely  inade- 
quate and  conditions  aboard  ships  were  far  from  de- 
sirable. The  situation  would  not  have  been  so  bad 
had  the  men  been  less  congested  but  as  the  ships  were 
loaded  to  their  utmost  capacity  every  little  space  was 
fully  utilized. 

Most  of  the  men  were  able  to  overcome  their  sea- 
sickness by  the  morning  of  the  second  day  out  and 
soldier  life  became  practically  settled  by  this  time. 
The  men  learned  their  surroundings,  the  novelty  of 


74  Trail  of  the  61st 

the  voyage  wore  off  and  the  dangers  of  their  position 
again  recurred  to  them. 

From  the  moment  of  boarding  his  ship,  each  man 
was  instructed  to  observe  every  precaution  while  on 
the  voyage,  for  it  was  pointed  out  to  him  that  any 
Httle  slip  might  result  in  the  sinking  of  one  or  more 
ships  of  the  convoy  by  German  submarines.  No 
smoking  was  allowed  on  decks  after  dark;  no  lights 
were  permitted  in  the  ship  except  in  such  spots  as 
were  protected  from  outside  view;  and  if  the  men 
wanted  to  smoke  during  the  evening  they  could  do  so 
only  in  the  wash  rooms  and  toilets,  where  their  lighted 
cigarettes  could  not  be  seen. 

A  definite  drill  schedule  was  quickly  established, 
and  the  soldiers  were  required  to  strictly  comply 
with  it.  Each  evening  before  retiring  all  organiza- 
tions were  formed  on  their  proper  decks  for  abandon 
ship  drill.  Each  morning,  early,  this  same  drill  was 
repeated,  the  men  being  called  on  deck  for  this  pur- 
pose during  the  first  part  of  the  voyage,  at  five  o'clock 
a.  m.  They  were  called  earlier  and  earlier  each 
morning  until  by  the  time  they  had  reached  the  dan- 
ger zone  in  European  waters  they  were  being  called 
at  half  past  two  and  three  o'clock.  But  regardless  of 
how  early  they  arose  each  morning,  the  men  were 
always  held  in  formation  on  deck  until  after  sunrise 
and  the  signal  had  been  received  that  everything  was 
safe  for  that  morning. 

It  was  understood  by  all  that  in  case  the  ships 
were  attacked  by  submarines  an  alarm  would  be 
sounded  by  ship  sirens,  at  which  time  every  man  was 
to  take  his  place  on  deck.  When  the  danger  had 
passed  the  whistle  of  some  designated  ship  was  to  be 
blown  in  a  series  of  five  short  blasts. 


The  Voyage  to  France.  75 

At  all  hours  of  the  day  and  night  a  submarine 
watch,  composed  of  soldiers,  was  stationed  at  vantage 
points  on  the  gunner's  deck.  Each  man  who  served 
as  a  submarine  guard  did  so  twice  a  day  for  periods 
of  one  hour  each.  His  post  consisted  of  a  definite 
amount  of  ocean,  as  measured  by  an  appropriate 
amount  of  rail  space,  and  he  was  held  responsible  to 
see  that  no  submarine  or  anything  of  suspicious  char- 
acter appeared  in  his  water  without  his  turning  in 
the  proper  alarm  for  it.  The  responsibility  upon 
the  submarine  guard  was  so  great  that  contrary 
to  all  ordinary  military  regulations  a  soldier  on  guard 
was  instructed  to  intently  watch  his  space  of  ocean 
and  not  to  face  an  officer  to  salute  when  questioned  or 
approached  by  one.  He  was  ordered  to  stand  at  at- 
tention whenever  the  officer  approached  his  post  but 
his  courtesy  to  the  officer  ended  there. 

Though  the  men  realized  the  responsibility  rest- 
ing upon  them  while  they  were  on  watch  for  subma- 
rines, the  two  hours  each  day  spent  on  guard  were 
among  the  most  enjoyable  of  the  trip.  Placed  where 
the  ocean  breezes  had  full  play  upon  them  and  re- 
ceiving frequent  sprays  of  salt  water  in  their  faces, 
they  felt  a  bouyancy  and  vigor  that  more  than  re- 
paid them  for  their  strenuous,  tireless  gazing  at  the 
constantly  moving  water. 

The  greatest  strain  upon  the  men  was  that  oc- 
casioned by  their  intent  gaze  at  the  bright  water. 
The  eyes  always  became  tired  enough  to  smart  and 
burn,  for  the  attempt  to  steadily  gaze  at  a  consider- 
able amount  of  the  ocean  in  an  effort  to  catch  even  the 
faintest  signs  of  matter  on  the  water,  and  the  determi- 
nation to  be  constantly  on  the  alert,  strained  their 
vision  to  utmost  capacity.  The  men  tried  to  see  every- 
thing that  passed  before  them,  for  they  realized  that 


76  Trail  of  the  61st 

an  oversight  on  their  part  might  mean  the  destruction 
of  a  transport  and  the  loss  of  many  lives. 

After  leaving  New  York  harbor,  the  convoy 
cruised  down  the  Atlantic  coast  until  it  reached  Nor- 
folk, at  which  point  it  was  joined  by  four  transports 
and  two  submarine  chasers,  these  ships  increasing  the 
size  of  the  convoy  to  nine  transports,  two  battle  cruis- 
ers and  three  submarine  chasers.  It  then  proceeded 
down  the  coast  a  short  distance  and  put  out  to  high 
seas,  following  the  southern  route  to  France. 

The  men  from  Texas  and  Oklahoma  had  learned 
in  camp  of  the  capacity  of  soldiers  to  create  and  set 
afloat  rumors  of  all  possible  descriptions  but  they 
found  to  their  surprise  that  they  were  only  appren- 
tices in  this  gentle  art  when  compared  with  sailors. 
More  rumors  were  "uncorked"  on  the  unsuspecting 
and  credulous  soldiers  during  the  first  day  or  two  they 
w^ere  aboard  ship  than  they  had  heard  in  double  that 
space  of  time  in  their  palmiest  days  at  Camp  Bowie 
They  heard  all  sorts  of  rumors  about  the  length  of 
time  the  convoy  would  be  on  the  water,  some  saying 
six  days  and  some  sixteen  days,  according  to  the 
optimism  of  the  individual  who  was  producing  the  in- 
formation. Also  they  were  edified  by  sailors  who 
obligingly  recounted  the  numerous  naval  experiences 
which  the  gallant  crews  of  their  ships  had  experienced 
in  previous  voyages  across  the  Atlantic. 

To  hear  some  gifted  sailor  relate  his  experiences 
during  the  time  he  had  been  in  the  naval  service  of 
the  United  States  was  to  convince  the  soldier  that  he 
had  made  a  serious  mistake  in  joining  the  army;  but 
as  the  soldier  became  better  acquainted  with  the 
sailor  and  saw  his  life  of  drudgery  on  the  big  ships 
he  felt  better  satisfied  over  his  own  lot. 


The  Voyage  to  France.  11 

One  of  the  most  attractive  features  of  the  voyage 
was  the  entertainment  furnished  by  flying  fish.  These 
little  creatures,  apparently  about  six  inches  in  length 
and  with  a  wing  spread  of  four  or  five  inches, 
emerged  from  the  waves  with  the  velocity  of  cata- 
pults, their  tails  lashing  the  water  with  such  speed  and 
lorce  that  they  were  projected  clear  of  the  ocean's 
surface  for  a  speedy  sail  over  the  water  until  the 
crest  of  another  smaller  wave  was  touched  and  they 
vv^ere  able  to  secure  another  flight  or  to  enter  the  v^ater 
and  vanish  from  sight. 

For  several  hours  after  the  first  flying  fish  were 
observed  it  was  common  opinion  that  they  were  birds, 
for  they  skimmed  over  the  water  with  such  apparent 
ease  and  speed  that  the  boys  felt  sure  nothing  but 
birds  could  pass  through  the  air  in  such  a  manner. 
And  they  did  look  like  birds,  especially  resembling 
swallows. 

The  men  were  also  interested  in  watching  for 
big  fish,  though  they  were  disappointed  in  not  seeing 
any  whales  or  sharks,  the  only  large  fish  observed  be- 
ing porpoise,  which  were  often  seen  in  considerable 
numbers.  It  was  astonishing  how  these  clumsy  look- 
ing fish  swam  so  rapidly  through  the  water,  but  they 
were  able  easily  to  keep  abreast  of  the  ships  though 
the  liners  made  a  speed  of  twenty  miles  an  hour. 

For  a  distance  of  about  three  hundred  miles  the 
ships  were  accompanied  by  sea  gulls,  the  majority  of 
these  birds  being  of  the  medium-sized,  white  variety 
which  never  tired  in  their  flight  and  were  to  be  seen 
at  all  hours  of  the  day  and  night  wheeling  and  turn- 
ing up  and  down  over  the  waters  and  about  the  ships. 
Occasionally,  after  the  liners  had  gotten  farther  out 
at  sea,  a  huge  black  gull  could  be  seen  wending  his 


78  Trail  of  the  61st 

solitary  way  across  the  waters,  apparently  not  inter- 
ested in  the  course  he  followed  or  the  destination  he 
was  to  reach.  These  big  birds  remained  in  sight  of 
the  ships  until  they  were  possibly  five  hundred  miles 
from  the  coast. 

But  regardless  of  other  sources  of  interest,  the 
ocean  proved  to  be  the  chief  interest  to  the  soldier. 
The  constantly  moving,  vast  expanse  of  water,  the 
restless  and  seemingly  uncontrollable  waves  as  they 
struggled  with  each  other,  striking  and  recoiling, 
forming  giant  fans  of  spray,  tossed  high  to  the  heav- 
ens, with  deep  valleys  between, — the  whole  presenting 
a  kaleidoscopic  picture  of  rare  grandeur  and  beauty, 
appealed  strangely  to  his  half-heathen  self.  Regard- 
less of  how  he  felt  or  of  his  state  of  mind  the  ocean 
remained  a  constant  and  intensely  interesting  study 
to  him.  He  sat  on  deck  and  watched  it  by  the  hour 
during  the  days,  and  in  the  evenings,  while  on  deck 
to  get  a  bit  of  fresh  air  before  going  below  to  his 
hole  in  crowded  quarters,  he  was  entertained  by  the 
phosphorescent  gleams  of  the  water  as  the  ship  cut 
the  great  billowy  waves  and  tossed  them  aside 
from  her  path.  Myriads  of  these  little,  radiantly 
changeable  lights  could  be  seen  close  to  the  sides  of 
the  ship  at  almost  any  time  during  the  night,  if  he 
was  willing  to  look  carefully  for  them. 

The  ocean  was  interesting  at  all  times,  but  it  con- 
tained an  all-absorbing  interest  when  lashed  into  fury 
by  high  winds.  During  such  times,  when  the  wind  was 
blowing  at  the  rate  of  from  forty  to  seventy  miles  an 
hour  and  waves  forty  or  fifty  feet  high  confronted  the 
ships,  conditions  were  bad  for  the  men  and  life  on 
the  transports  was  quite  unpleasant.  If  the  ships 
happened  to  be  running  at  right  angles  to  the  waves, 
sailing   conditions    were   fairly   good,   the   ships    only 


The  Voyage  to  France.  79 

dipping  and  rising  with  the  rise  and  swell  of  the 
water,  but  in  case  they  struck  the  waves  diagonally, 
the  men  aboard  experienced  unusual  and  highly  un- 
pleasant sensations.  The  movement  of  the  vessels 
combined  a  rolling  rotary  motion  with  a  falling  and 
rising  one  that  aroused  such  protest  in  all  stomachs 
that  it  became  difficult  for  the  men  to  maintain  either 
their  equilibrium  or  their  food.  At  such  times  it  was 
difficult  to  walk  about  on  the  decks  and  especially  to 
eat  food,  for  attempts  by  the  men  to  brace  themselves  to 
meet  the  quick  changes  in  the  motion  of  the  ships  were 
often  retarded  by  their  being  thrown  off  their  balances 
through  movements  entirely  different  from  the  ones 
they  had  anticipated.  Then  too,  they  never  knew 
just  when  a  giant  wave  would  come  along  and  sweep 
over  deck,  giving  them  a  thorough  wetting  and  wash- 
ing them  against  the  rails  where  they  had  to  exer- 
cise care  and  agility  in  escaping  from  being  washed 
overboard. 

From  the  time  the  convoy  left  American  waters 
it  was  led  by  a  battle  cruiser;  the  various  convoys 
were  so  grouped  that  they  could  be  within  close 
touch  of  each  other,  and  in  formation  some- 
what diamond  shaped.  To  the  rear  of  the  convoy 
was  the  second  cruiser;  and  on  both  flanks  were 
submarine  chasers,  which  darted  in  and  out  among 
the  ships  with  such  ease  and  speed  as  to  earn 
the  .'obriquets  of  **the  greyhounds  of  the  sea.''  The 
soldiers  marveled  at  the  construction  and  appear- 
ance of  the  submarine  chasers,  being  influenced,  o\ 
course,  by  the  fact  that  the  safety  of  the  convoy 
rested  largely  with  these  long,  slender,  little  fighting 
crafts  which  sank  so  deeply  into  the  water  that  they 
showed  only  a  few  feet  of  deck  space  above  the 
surface. 


80  Trail  of  the  61st 

One  noticeable  feature  of  the  sailing  was  the  ir- 
regular manner  in  which  the  ships  in  the  convoy 
varied  from  their  course,  leaving  in  their  wake  zig-zag 
paths  of  disturbed  waters,  and  yet  were  able  to  main- 
tain their  relative  positions  and  distances. 

When  the  convoy  had  reached  a  distance  of  about 
five  hundred  miles  at  sea,  one  cruiser  and  two  sub- 
marine chasers  returned  to  America,  leaving  one 
cruiser  and  one  chaser  as  protectors  of  the 
ships.  These  two  vessels  continued  with  the  convoy 
throughout  its  voyage,  arriving  with  it  in  the  harbor 
at  Brest;  and  at  all  times  during  the  voyage  the  gray 
hulk  of  the  cruiser  was  to  be  seen  leading  the  way 
across  the  Atlantic  while  the  chaser  divided  its  time 
in  running  in  and  out  and  around  and  about  the 
transports. 

On  the  evening  of  August  10th  at  about  five 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  a  sail-boat  was  observed  on 
the  port  side  of  the  convoy,  and  within  a  short  time 
she  came  into  full  view.  She  was  signalled  by  the 
battle  cruiser  which  after  considerable  communica- 
tion allowed  her  to  go  on  her  way.  While  this 
parley  was  taking  place  the  men  on  the  trans- 
ports thronged  the  decks  in  an  attempt  to  learn  the 
identity  of  the  sail  boat  and  to  ascertain  whether  or 
not  she  was  friendly  or  hostile;  but  when  she  was 
seen  to  pass  on  unmolested  they  soon  forgot  the  in- 
cident. 

Their  attention  was  again  called  to  the  sail-boat, 
however,  when  about  sundown  the  cruiser  and  sub- 
chaser reversed  their  course,  taking  the  same  direc- 
tion as  that  followed  by  the  sail-boat  at  the  time  it 
passed  from  view.  Conjecture  concerning  the  mis- 
sion of  the  cruiser  and  chaser  ran  wild  but  it  soon  be- 
came common  belief  that  thev  had  secured  some  in- 


The  Voyage  to  France,  81 

formation  leading  them  to  believe  the  sailboat  had  not 
revealed  her  true  identity  and  they  had  therefore 
gon(^  back  to  investigate. 

When  the  men  arose  the  next  morning  the  cruiser 
and  chaser  were  again  back  in  their  accustomed 
places  in  the  convoy  and  the  rumors  of  the  previous 
evening  seemed  to  lose  their  significance;  but  v^ithin 
a  short  time  it  v^as  learned  that  the  sailboat  had  been 
overtaken  during  the  night,  and  captured  by  the 
cruiser  and  the  crev^  taken  off  as  prisoners,  the  boat 
having  proved  to  have  been  a  German  oil  boat  used 
as  a  submarine  filling  station.  It  was  understood 
that  after  the  cruiser  and  the  chaser  had  taken  over 
as  much  oil  as  their  facilities  allowed,  the  sailboat 
was  sunk.  None  of  these  rumors  were  confirmed 
though  practically  all  of  the  men  in  the  brigade  be- 
lieved them  to  be  true. 

The  morning  of  August  11th  proved  to  be  an 
eventful  one,  for  early  in  the  day  a  large  convoy  of 
submarine  chasers,  fifteen  in  all,  joined  the  convoy 
and  word  was  passed  among  the  men  that  they 
were  entering  the  most  dangerous  waters  in  the  ocean, 
for  the  last  few  hours  having  been  in  the  Bay  of 
Biscay. 

The  chasers  arrived  none  too  soon,  for  shortly 
after  8  o'clock,  while  the  men  on  the  various  ships 
were  in  line  for  breakfast,  sirens  from  all  the  ships 
immediately  sounded  a  warning  and  sharp,  clear 
orders  were  issued  to  the  soldiers  to  take  their  places 
promptly  on  deck,  wearing  full  equipment  and  life- 
savers.  It  was  reported  that  a  number  of  German  sub- 
marines were  attacking  the  convoy. 

When  the  danger  signals  commenced  blowing  the 
men  were  in  mess  line  and  most  of  them  wore  only 


82  Trail  of  the  61st 

their  uniforms  and  life  savers;  many  were  without 
blouses  and  had  their  shoes  unlaced.  They  had  been 
called  by  the  danger  sirens  so  many  times  for  drill  that 
they  paid  little  heed  to  the  signal  until  their  officers 
appeared  in  the  doorways  and  commenced  to  issue 
sharp  orders  to  "stand  by  with  full  equipment  and  life 
savers  on/'  and  the  big  guns  began  to  bark.  Then  the 
atmosphere  changed  and  the  whole  brigade  "went 
into  action."  Messkits  were  thrown  on  bunks,  over- 
coats were  jerked  into  place,  shoes  were  laced, 
life  savers  were  made  secure  and  the  men  quickly 
stood  by  their  bunks  for  further  orders.  They  had 
only  a  minute  or  two  to  wait,  for  their  officers  sharply 
ordered  them  on  deck,  and  they  moved  forward  rapid- 
ly to  their  respective  posts. 

They  realized  at  this  time  just  what  the  days  and 
days  of  training  as  soldiers  meant  to  them  and  how  im- 
portant had  been  the  carefully  planned  Abandon  Ship 
Drill  they  had  been  forced  to  attend.  Woe  unto  the 
man  who  was  out  of  place  at  that  moment,  for  he  had 
a  space  especially  assigned  to  him  in  a  certain  life  boat 
and  all  officers  had  received  instructions  to  take  only 
the  men  who  were  properly  assigned  to  boats  in  case  it 
became  necessary  to  abandon  ship,  and  to  shoot  any 
men  who  attempted  to  board  the  wrong  boat  or  who 
were  out  of  place  when  the  ship  was  abandoned. 

The  men  thought  and  acted  quickly,  for  they  had 
little  time  to  do  otherwise.  The  officers  were  univer- 
sally cool  and  collected,  but  every  soldier  felt  the  strain 
under  which  his  officers  labored  and  was  able  to  detect 
a  note  of  excitement  in  the  voices  that  usually  gave 
their  commands  slowly  and  with  such  assurance. 

The  men  realized  that  they  were  entering  the  most 
exciting  and  dangerous  experience  of  their  lives.    They 


The  Voyage  to  France.  83 

settled  into  their  places  and  awaited  the  outcome  of  the 
engagement,  which  was  soon  under  way,  the  guns  on 
the  various  ships  booming,  the  hoarse  grating  tones  of 
the  whistles  filling  the  air  with  their  frightful,  fear- 
inspiring  sounds  and  each  ship  quivering  and  pulsing 
under  the  terrific  strain  imposed  upon  it  by  the  en- 
gines which  were  pounding  away  to  their  utmost  ca- 
pacity in  carrying  the  ships  forward  with  a  speed 
that  previously  had  been  considered  impossible. 

All  of  the  sub  chasers  rapidly  assembled  at  the 
danger  point  and  the  cruisers  followed  as  quickly  as 
possible.  The  little  chasers  sailed  about  poking 
their  noses  into  every  suspicious  wave,  but  only  one 
or  two  of  them  were  able  to  get  into  the  heart  of  the 
battle.  These  crafts  dropped  bomb  after  bomb  in  their 
efforts  to  reach  the  hidden  enemy  and  it  seemed  to 
the  soldiers  who  viewed  their  efforts  that  undoubtedly 
all  submarines  in  that  locality  were  either  destroyed  or 
L)adly  damaged  by  the  explosions  that  resulted. 

It  was  highly  surprising  and  genuinely  pleasing 
to  note  the  SDeed  of  the  sub-chasers  and  to  see  the  easy 
manner  in  which  they  moved  through  the  water.  They 
turned  almost  on  a  pivot, — as  some  boys  said  "on  a 
dime," — and  were  so  shifty  and  business-like  that  the 
soldiers  felt  reassured  about  their  safety  after  seeing 
these  crafts  perform  for  a  few  minutes.  Their  crewSj 
stripped  to  the  waists,  stood  by  their  posts  ready  to 
drop  depth  bombs  almost  as  soon  as  the  danger  signal 
was  blown  and  after  the  fight  started  they  rolled  the 
bombs  into  the  water  so  rapidly  that  it  seemed  to  the 
spectators  that  one  bomb  scarcely  reached  the  water, 
without  having  time  to  explode,  before  another  one  was 
being  started  on  its  way. 

The  attack  did  not  amount  to  much  though  it 
proved  very  interesting  to  everybody  in  the  convoy. 


84 


Trail  of  the  61st 


The  men  had  dreamed  about  the  possibilities  of  a  sub- 
marine attack,  and  though  fearful  that  such  a  danger 
might  confront  them,  had  halfway  hoped  for  the  ex- 
perience. Remarks  were  heard  on  all  sides,  as  the 
firing  of  the  guns  abated  and  the  submarines  discon- 
tinued their  activities,   expressing  satisfaction   over 


A  view  of  a  sailor  gun  squad  on  one  of  the  ships  in  the  convoy  that  was 
attacked  by  submarines  when  the  61st  was  being  taken  to  France.  The  squad  is 
preparing  to  send  Fritz  an  early  morning  salutation  and  the  gunner  is  only 
awaiting  the  opportunity  to  fire.  -During  the  submarine  attack  the  guns  of  the 
convoy   worked  incessanty   but   very   little,   if  any,  damage  was   done   by   them. 

the  morning's  excitement,  and  fertile  brains  began  to 
hatch  wonderful  stories  to  be  told  to  homefolks  after 
the  war. 

No  damage  resulted  from  the  engagement  and 
after  being  held  at  attention  for  more  than  half  an 
hour  the  safety  signal  was  blown  and  men  were  al- 
lowed their  freedom. 

This  engagement  offered  a  wonderful  opportunity 
to  study  the  psychological  effect  of  danger  upon  vari- 


The  Voyage  to  Frayice.  85 

ous  types  of  men.  One  type  of  individual  turned  pale 
and  violently  trembled  v^ith  a  hunted  expression  on 
his  face  showing  that  he  was  undergoing  an  agony 
of  spirit — that  man  was  afraid.  Another  type  of  sol- 
dier tightly  gritted  his  teeth,  protruded  his  jaw  a 
bit  farther  to  the  front,  and  with  clinched  hands  and 
firm  bearing  looked  about  the  deck  in  an  aggressive 
way  as  if  challenging  any  danger  that  might  con- 
front him — that  man  was  a  fighter.  Still  another 
type  appeared  to  accept  the  situation  as  being  one  of 
the  most  common,  eVery  diay  experiences  of  his  life,  and 
apparently  was  as  unconcerned  over  it  as  if  he  were 
at  home  eating  ice  cream  or  otherwise  enjoying  him- 
self in  a  quiet  orderly  way — that  man  was  a  philoso- 
pher. A  fourth  type  of  individual  showed  evidence 
of  an  all  consuming  curiosity,  of  being  so  eager  to  see 
everything  going  on  that  he  could  scarcely  contain 
himself ;  he  looked  eagerly  in  every  direction  and  tried 
to  see  everything  that  happened,  without  showing  the 
least  concern  about  the  outcome  of  the  fight — that 
was  the  curious  man. 

One  of  the  most  amusing  incidents  of  this  battle 
was  furnished  by  a  contingent  of  hungry  soldiers  who 
took  advantage  of  the  fight  to  help  themselves  to  such 
food  as  they  could  find  in  the  kitchens.  In  speaking 
of  this  incident  one  of  the  naval  officers  observed : 
"These  were  the  most  calmly  indifferent  men  I  ever 
saw  in  the  face  of  danger.  The  richest  thing  I  ever 
saw :  for  a  bunch  of  Texans  to  rob  the  kitchens,  when 
they  should  have  been  on  deck  praying." 

At  one  p.  m.  of  the  same  day  the  submarine  at- 
tack was  resumed,  the  battle  being  practically  a  repro- 
duction of  that  of  the  morning.  The  guns  of  the  ships 
fired  incessantly  and  the  submarine  chasers  darted 
about  dropping  depth  bombs,  until  the  ocean  was  rock- 


86         .  Trail  of  the  61st 

ed  for  several  hundred  yards  along  the  route  over  which 
the  fight  was  held. 

At  3:10  o'clock  of  the  same  afternoon,  a  final 
attack  was  made  by  the  submarines  but  no  harm  was 
done  to  any  of  the  ships  in  the  convoy.  In  this  last 
battle  many  men  reported  having  seen  one  submarine 
blown  out  of  the  water  by  a  depth  bomb  from  one  of 
the  submarine  chasers  and  to  have  observed  the  burn- 
ing of  the  debris  on  the  surface  of  the  water  as  the 
oil  from  the  destroyed  submarine  caught  on  fire  dur- 
ing the  explosion  of  the  bombs. 

Accepting  this  report  or  not,  unofficial  niilitary 
reports  had  it  that  during  the  three  battles  the  Ger- 
mans used  fifteen  submarines,  three  of  which  were 
sunk  by  depth  bombs.  The  enemy  apparently  had 
known  every  detail  of  the  voyage  of  thi^  particular 
convoy  and  had  made  preparations  to  destroy  it  by 
using  a  sufficiently  large  number  of  submarines  to 
accomplish  the  desired  results ;  but  in  communicating 
by  wireless  with  their  submarines  one  of  their  mes- 
sages had  been  intercepted  by  the  Allies  who,  in  order 
to  meet  the  grave  situation,  had  sent  fifteen  sub- 
marine chasers  from  the  harbor  of  Brest  to  meet  the 
convoy  about  500  miles  from  the  coast.  It  has  been 
seen  how  nearly  these  chasers  came  to  being  too  late. 

Without  any  further  lyiishap  or  excitement  the 
convoy  arrived  in  the  harbor  of  Brest  early  on  the 
morning  of  August  12,  and  for  the  first  time  during 
the  voyage  the  men  were  avowed  to  give  expression 
to  their  pent-up  feelings.  As  it  was  learned  just  be- 
fore breakfast  that  the  ships  were  approaching  the 
coast  of  France,  very  few  men  ate  any  breakfast  and 
those  who  did  had  only  a  sparing  amount  served  to 
them.     It  is  safe  to  say  that  up  to  this  time  in  their 


The  Voyage  to  France.  87 

lives  no  land  looked  so  good  as  did  the  rocky  coast 
of  France,  and  when  the  first  signs  of  this  old  country 
became  visible  they  cheered  vociferously,  every  avail- 
able space  on  deck  being  occupied  by  these  happy, 
eagerly  curious  soldiers,  in  an  attempt  to  make  up  in 
a  few  short  minutes  for  the  days  and  days  they  had 
spent  on  the  ocean. 

Because  of  the  shallowness  of  the  water  at  the 
entrance  to  the  inner  harbor  the  ships  were  forced 
to  lie  out  in  the  main  harbor  until  the  men  could  be 
transferred  to  smaller  harbor  boats  and  thereby  car- 
ried to  land. 

At  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  August  13,  a 
lighter  came  alongside  the  U.  S.  S.  Siboney  and  troops 
from  Brigade  Headquarters  were  loaded  on  it,  to  be 
taken  through  the  docks  to  the  wharves  for  unloading. 
By  one  o'clock  the  same  day,  the  131st  Regiment  was 
ashore.  By  four  o'clock  the  132nd  was  unloaded. 
The  133rd  Regiment  had  been  sent  ashore  at  nine 
o'clock  in  the  morning  and  the  111th  Ammunition 
Train  debarked  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The 
111th  Trench  Motor  Battery,  which  had  made  its 
voyage  on  the  U.  S.  S.  Leviathan,  sailing  from  port 
three  days  after  the  convoy  in  which  the  main  part 
of  the  61st  Brigade  was  transported,  had  arrived  and 
debarked  on  the  afternoon  of  August  11. 


V. 

BREST 

It  was  with  a  feeling  of  keen  anticipation  that 
the  men  stepped  ashore  from  the  small  coast  ships  at 
Brest,  for  everyone  had  heard  wonderful  tales  about 
sunny  France.  There  was  not  a  one  who  was  alto- 
gether unfamiliar  with  the  history  of  Napoleon  and 
all  knew  that  Frenchmen  for  centuries  had  been 
noted  for  their  fighting  ability.  Moreover,  the  work 
done  by  the  French  in  the  first  three  years  of  the 
war  had  turned  the  eyes  of  the  whole  world  on 
France,  and  the  men  were  anxious  to  see  a  country 
that  could  produce  such  fighters.  Throughout  their 
training  period  in  the  camps  of  America  they  had 
looked  forward  to  the  hour  when  they  would  reach 
France,  and  they  were  happy  over  their  safe  arrival 
there.  But  what  was  their  surprise  and  disappointment 
upon  landing  to  observe  before  them  an  old,  dirty,  un- 
kempt and  altogether  unattractive  town,  with  a  little  in- 
significant railroad  station  lying  near  by,  and  a  few 
dinky  box  cars  and  a  small  engine  sitting  on  a  narrow 
guage  track  which  reminded  the  men  of  their  boyhood 
days  and  toy  trains. 

One  sign  common  to  all  of  the  cars,  and  destined 
to  become  very  familiar  to  the  boys,  was  that  of  *'40 
hommes;  8  chevaux,"  ''forty  men;  eight  horses."  It 
was  hard  for  the  men  to  realize  that  these  cars  could 
possibly  be  used  to  accommodate  forty  men  or  eight 
horses,   but  before   they  had   been   in   France   many 

(88) 


Brest.  89 

weeks  they  learned  that  such  cars  could  be  made  to 
accommodate  as  many  as  fifty  or  fifty-five  men,  when 
troop  movements  became  imperative  and  cars  were 
scarce. 

The  men  formed  in  columns,  each  man  wearing 
his  full  overseas  pack,  and  the  column  started  on  the 
long  tiresome  march  to  t<ie  Pontanezan  barracks,  a 
distance  of  four  kilometers  from  the  outskirts  of 
Brest.  As  they  swung  along  in  this  march  very  little 
attention  was  paid  to  keeping  step  or  to  formation, 
for  all  eyes  were  busily  engaged  in  seeing  as  much  of 
the   new   country   as   possible. 

The  city  of  Brest  is  laid  off  in  irregular  blocks, 
circumscribed  by  narrow  streets  paved  with  rough 
stones  which  have  been  used  for  centuries  until  they 
are  worn  and  notched.  Most  of  the  streets  are  lined 
on  each  side  by  rock  walls,  about  six  or  eight  feet 
high,  so  ably  constructed  that  though  having  stood 
for  years  they  are  yet  perfectly  sound. 

In  marching  along  the  old  winding  streets  of 
Brest  the  troops  were  met  at  varying  intervals  by 
French  people,  old,  feeble  men,  women  of  all  ages 
and  any  number  of  children,  no  able-bodied  or  stal- 
wart men  being  seen.  Even  though  the  Americans 
had  read  from  newspapers  that  the  French  people 
were  scarcely  modern  in  their  habits  and  dress  they 
were  totally  unprepared  for  the  surprise  which  these 
people  really  afforded  them.  Most  of  the  adults  were 
dressed  in  garments  that,  though  possibly  attractive 
at  some  previous  time,  were  now  so  worn  and  unbe- 
comingly draped  about  their  gaunt  figures  as  to  give 
the  effect  of  great  poverty  and  unsightliness.  This 
bad  effect  was  heightened  by  the  head-gear  worn — 
which  was  chiefly  some  loose  ugly  colored  kerchief  or 
shawl  tied  tightly  about  the  hair, — and  by  all  shapes, 


9j  Trail  of  the  61st 

kinds  and  qualities  of  wooden  shoes,  in  varying  states 
of  wear,  which  gave  forth  resounding  clacks  at  every 
step  on  the  rock  pavements. 

The  children  were  almost  universally  dressed  in 
striped  sweaters  which  closely  fitted  their  emaciated 
frames  and  showed  the  bodies  to  be  ill-nourished  and 
in  need  of  good  substantial  food. 

A  particularly  noticeable  thing  about  the  people 
of  Brest  was  the  wrinkled  and  old-looking  faces  of  all 
the  adults.  The  children  had  pinched  expressions  also 
but  this  was  offset  somewhat  by  natural  expressions  of 
youthfulness.  The  men  remarked  especially  about 
the  old-looking  people  they  met  and  at  many  later 
times  during  their  stay  in  France  this  subject  came 
up  for  discussion,  and  they  ventured  many  conjectures 
about  the  reason  for  it.  The  main  reason  finally  agreed 
upon  by  the  Americans  was  that  the  French  drank  so 
much  wine  and  were  so  licentious  in  their  mode  of  liv- 
ing  that  age  overtook  them  early  in  life.  The  use  of 
wine  especially  seemed  to  have  a  bad  effect,  for  the 
old  people  showed  its  effect  in  their  wrinkled,  shriv- 
eled faces  and  in  the  expressions  of  their  counten- 
ances. 

Nothing  about  Brest  seemed  to  appeal  to  the 
soldiers ;  the  people  were  crude,  unattractive  and  ap- 
parently a  low  type  of  civilization  and  the  houses  were 
anything  but  pleasing  to  the  eye.  Most  of  the  houses 
were  constructed  entirely  of  stone,  with  stone  or  tile 
floors,  and  were  usually  built  to  the  edge  of  the  streets 
so  their  doors  opened  on  the  sidewalks.  The  men  in 
walking  along  the  streets  could  look  into  the  interior 
of  these  houses  and  could  see  the  kind  of  home  life  the 
people  lived,  and  with  each  view  they  became  less 
favorably  impressed.  The  rooms  contained  very  little 
furniture,  only  enough  to  satisfy  the  simplest  needs, 


Brest.  91 

and  such  furniture  as  was  in  evidence  was  made  of 
the  cheapest  material,  usually  stone  or  straight  un- 
finished wood.  Indeed,  one  would  suppose  from  view- 
ing the  interiors  of  the  average  French  house  that  he 
was  looking  into  the  retreat  of  an  ascetic  of  ''ye  olden 
tvmes"  instead  of  a  modern  home. 

Built  principally  on  the  gothic  plan  of  architect- 
ure, and  provided  with  an  abundance  of  gables,  tur- 
rets, and  little  artistic  nooks  and  corners,  most  of  the 
houses  had  the  basis  for  beautification,  had  the  in- 
habitants seen  fit  to  improve  them*.  It  was  difficult 
for  the  Americans,  fresh  from  a  country  where  al- 
most everybody  had  modern  houses  and  where  no 
effects  of  war  were  to  be  seen,  to  realize  the  destitute 
condition  of  the  people  in  this  French  city,  but  they 
saw  evidence  on  every  hand  in  Brest  of  the  drain 
France  had  sustained  during  the  past  three  years  of 
war.  They  dimly  realized  from  the  general  appear- 
ance of  everything,  and  especially  that  of  the  people, 
themselves,  that  the  country  had  been  ruthlessly  rav- 
aged and  that  the  power  of  resistance  was  largely 
drawn  from  the  feeble  classes  yet  remaining  at  home. 

Regardless  of  this  knowledge,  however,  they  were 
disappointed  in  Brest,  for  they  had  expected  great 
things  from  their  trip  to  France  from  the  first  mo- 
ment they  learned  that  they  would  likely  be  sent  to 
that  country.  They  could  not  reconcile  the  land  they 
saw  wath  the  land  of  their  dreams,  and  even  though 
they  knew  their  disappointment  was  more  or  less  un- 
just, they  were  unable  to  restrain  it  entirely.  As  they 
passed  along  the  ^streets  and  saw  home  after  home 
with  its  bareness  and  lack  of  comfort  and  the  many 
people  practically  destitute  of  food  and  shelter,  at 
first,  a  great  w^ave  of  indignation  passed  over  them 


92  Trail  of  the  61st 

and  they  felt  that  they  had  been  tricked,  thinking 
they  were  coming  to  a  land  of  beauty  and  richness, 
when  in  reality  they  had  come  to  a  land  of  want  and 
shame.  They  did  not  stop  to  reason  that  the  France 
they  saw  and  the  France  of  peace  times  were  two 
altogether  different  countries,  but  they  accepted  con- 
ditions as  they  saw  them  and  criticised  accordingly. 
Disparaging  and  disgruntled  remarks  were  heard  on 
every  side,  disclosing  a  complete  disgust  for  France 
and  everything  French.  The  pitiful  part  of  this  ex- 
perience is  that  most  of  the  soldiers  were  unable  to 
change  this  attitude  of  mind  during  their  stay  iiT 
France  and  returned  to  America  full  of  venom  for  the 
French  people  and  unwilling  to  credit  them  with  any 
virtue. 

It  is  a  sad  thing  that  Americans  had  their  first 
contact  with  France  in  such  a  spot  as  Brest,  for  this 
city  is  in  no  sense  representative  of  the  best  French  life 
or  the  better  type  of  French  people.  Brittany  is  ac- 
knowledged all  over  Europe  to  be  the  worst  part  of 
France,  to  have  the  poorest  grade  of  inhabitants  and 
to  be  less  progressive  than  any  other  part  of  the  re- 
public, and  soldiers  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  have 
traveled  in  other  sates  besides  Brittany  and  to  have 
seen  some  of  the  really  beautiful  sections  of  France, 
bear  witness  to  this  truth.  The  inhabitants  of  Brit- 
tany cannot  be  taken  as  representative  of  the  real 
French  any  more  than  the  rougher  elements  of  the 
United  States  can  be  accepted  as  representative  of  the 
better  type  of  Americans. 

Not  only  did  the  appearance  of  the  people  and 
the  country  affect  the  Americans  but  the  inability  of 
the  soldiers  to  understand  the  French  language  had 
its  effect  also.  The  men  had  just  come  ashore  from 
a  very  trying  ocean  voyage  and  in  spite  of  themselves 


Best.  9 


Q 


were  a  bit  homesick  for  some  good  old  American 
land.  When  they  stepped  ashore  at  Brest  they  were 
taken  aback  by  the  speech  of  the  natives,  who  could 
not  be  understood,  and  who  therefore  failed  miser- 
ably in  expressing  greetings  and  appreciation  for 
the  Americans. 

The  boys  had  left  their  home  country  only  a  few 
days  before  and  during  all  of  their  leave  takings 
great  demonstrations  had  been  staged  expressly  for 
them.  When  they  debarked  from  their  ships  on  the 
French  side  of  the  Atlantic  and  could  not  understand 
a  thing  that  was  said,  they  were  disappointed  and 
resentful.  This  unfavorable  opinion  was  formed  at 
the  outset  and  was  followed  immediately  by  preju- 
dice, which  was  never  overcome  in  many  of  them. 
Yet,  little  criticism  can  really  be  offered  concerning 
the  manner  in  which  the  French  people  received  the 
soldiers,  for  the  countenances  of  all,  old  and  young, 
were  lit  up  with  smiles  of  happy  welcome  and  the 
streets  were  lined  with  cheering,  welcoming  crowds. 

As  the  troops  marched  through  the  town,  French 
children  gathered  along  the  sidewalks  laughing  and 
singing.  One  of  their  most  popular  songs  was,  "Hail, 
Hail,  The  Gang's  All  Here;  What  the  Hell  -Do  ^e 
Care,"  though  they  were  not  at  all  backward  in  try- 
ing out  many  other  American  songs  which  they 
seemingly  considered  to  be  highly  pleasing  to  the 
ear.  This  little  stunt  pleased  the  boys  hugely,  and 
helped  to  lighten  the  load  of  many  a  weary  fellow 
and  to  lessen  to  some  extent  his  disappointment  in 
the  people  and  the  country. 

The  route  to  the  rest  camp  at  Pontenazen  Bar- 
racks lay  over  rough,  hilly  roads,  and  after  the  men 
had  marched  for  about  a  mile,  they  were  halted  on 


94  Trail  of  the  61st 

the  outskirts  of  Brest  for  rest.  Here  they  were  as- 
sailed by  French  venders,  chiefly  women  and  girls 
who  were  selling  nuts  and  what  they  represented  to 
be  cakes  and  candy.  The  hungry  soldiers  eagerly 
purchased  some  of  the  cakes  but  after  attempting  to 
eat  them,  declared  they  were  more  nearly  a  combina- 
tion of  sawdust  and  leather  than  cakes.  They  soon 
learned  that  what  they  bought  in  France  would  cost 
them  dearly,  as  they  were  asked  the  sum  of  ten  cents 
for  a  mere  handful  of  nuts  and  all  other  commodities 
presented  to  them  proved  to  have  prices  based  on  the 
same  high  scale. 

It  was  amusing  to  observe  the  soldiers  in  their  at- 
tempts to  make  the  French  people  understand  Eng- 
lish. A  man  who  knew  a  little  French  w^as  never  so 
popular  before  in  his  life;  he  was  called  on  every  side 
to  help  in  transactions  with  the  venders  and  even 
though  he  could  make  the  French  people  understand 
only  a  word  or  two  of  his  jargon,  praise  from  his  com- 
rades was  showered  profusely  upon  him. 

The  march  was  resumed  after  a  short  rest,  with 
only  a  few  stop?  between  there  and  the  camp,  and  the 
troops  soon  arrived  at  their  destination,  which  proved 
to  be  a  wheat  field  about  two  miles  beyond  Pontena- 
zen  barracks,  as  facilities  in  the  barracks  were  inade- 
quate for  housing  more  men.  Shelter  tents  were  im- 
mediately erected  and  the  brigade  prepared  for  a 
much  needed  rest,  the  day's  strain  having  proved  es- 
pecially tiring. 

Troops  who  had  come  ashore  early  and  had  ar- 
rived in  camp  first,  were  divided  into  details  and 
sent  back  to  Pontenazen  barracks  for  food,  which  was 
chiefly  bread  and  beef.  No  trucks  were  available  for 
the  hauling  of  food  to  the  camp  and  the  details  were 


Brest. 


95 


used  as  pack  horses,  being  forced  to  use  considerable 
ingenuity  and  intelligence  in  successfully  accomplish- 
ing their  mission.  Groups  of  four  men  each  carried 
blankets,  in  which  were  dumped  about  twelve  loaves 
of  bread,  and  these  loaves,  being  two  feet  long,  one 


MAJOR  WILTON  L.   RUTAX, 

Adjutant  of  the  61st  F.  A.  Brigade  from  December,   1917,  to  October,   1918. 

(See  Appendix.) 

foot  wide  and  six  or  eight  inches  deep,  made  a  sub- 
stantial load  for  the  four  men.  Each  man  in  the 
detail  gathered  a  corner  of  the  blanket  over  his 
sJioulder  and  kept  step  with  the  other  three  men  while 


96  Trail  of  the  61st 

marching.    In  this  manner  the  detail  was  able  to  carry 
its  unwieldy  burden  with  some  degree  of  success. 

The  bread  details  had  some  laughable  experiences, 
though  their  work  was  hard.  One  detail  from  Brigade 
Headquarters  took  its  twelve  loaves  of  bread  and 
started  back  to  camp,  but  the  hunger  of  the  men  over- 
came them  and  they  stopped  behind  some  trees  just 
outside  of  the  walls  of  the  barracks,  almost  under  the 
noses  of  officers  who  were  passing,  and  proceeded  to 
test  the  quality  of  their  burden. 

They  were  a  bit  dubious  about  the  bread,  for  they 
had  never  before  seen  it  in  such  large  loaves,  and  then, 
too,  the  crust  looked  tough  and  coarse,  but  upon  break- 
ing off  small  pieces  from  one  loaf  they  found  the  flavor 
and  quality  to  be  excellent  and  plunged  their  hands  into 
the  white,  fluffy  bread,  drawing  forth  great  hunks  of 
it,  which  they  ravenously  devoured. 

Before  they  realized  what  they  had  done,  they 
found  the  loaf  was  gone — a  huge,  12-pound  loaf, 
24x12x6  inches — and  their  load  had  been  decreased 
by  one-twelfth. 

But  they  did  not  stop  with  eating  one  loaf,  for 
during  the  trip  to  camp  they  broke  several  other  loaves, 
the  broken  bits  of  which  they  ate  during  the  entire 
march.  In  all,  they  probably  ate  a  loaf  and  a  half  of 
fresh  bread,  a  total  of  18  pounds,  which  is  a  fairly 
substantial  meal  for  four  men,  even  though  they  were 
famished. 

The  amount  these  men  ate  would  not  have  been  so 
bad  if  they  had  stopped  there,  but  instead  of  going 
directly  to  bed  after  returning  to  camp  these  bread 
consumers  ''waited  up"  for  supper  with  the  rest  of 
the  hungry  camp  and  "polished  off"  a  mess  kit  or  two 
of  corned  willie  and  drank  a  cup  or  two  of  hot  coffee. 


Brest. 


97 


besides  eating  a  few  more  slices  of  their  beloved  bread. 
This  ''feed"  would  have  killed  them  in  civilian  life,  yet 
they  were  able  to  "say  grace"  over  it  without  a  groan 
and  to  roll  themselves  into  their  blankets  and  drop  off 
to  sleep  as  peacefully  as  if  they  had  just  finished  a 
light  repast  in  one  of  America's  stingiest  cafes.  What 
a  change  a  few  short  months  had  made  in  them ! 


Oxen  are  the  principal  beasts  of  burden  in  France  and  this  photograph 
shows  a  typical  Frenchman  with  his  wife,  mother-in-law,  wagon  and  oxen. 
These  soldiers  are  from  the  111th  Ammunition  Train  and  have  prevailed  upon  the 
Frenchman  to  pose  for  this  picture. 

Other  men,  usually  in  groups  of  two,  were  used 
as  meat  details,  and  a  quarter  of  beef  was  assigned 
to  them.  To  get  their  heavy  piece  of  meat  back  to 
camp  they  were  forced  to  run  strong  poles  through 
it  and  to  rest  these  poles  upon  their  shoulders.  In 
this  manner  the  burden  was  suspended  between 
them,  and  though  heavy,  especially  since  it  had 
to  be  carried  for  a  distance  of  two  miles,  the  use 
of  poles  enabled  them  to  successfully  stand  the  strain. 
Other  details  were  assigned  to  the  duties  of  carrying 
water  and  securing  wood  with  which  to  cook  food  for 


98  Trail  of  the  61st 

the  evening  meal.  Hundreds  of  men  carried  buckets 
of  water  and  arm-loads  of  wood  the  distance  of  two 
miles,  from  the  barracks  to  camp.  This  work  began 
early  in  the  afternoon  and  continued  until  late  in  the 
evening.  Few  of  the  men  had  eaten  breakfast  on  the 
ships,  but  the  work  of  getting  unloaded  and  out  to 
camp  took  so  much  time  that  they  could  eat  no  din- 
ner and  were  starved  by  supper  time.  Yet  the  slow 
manner  in  which  food  was  procured  for  the  evening 
meal,  coupled  with  the  unfamiliarity  of  the  cooks 
with  their  new  surroundings,  caused  supper  to  be  de- 
layed until  about  ten  o'clock  that  night  and  when 
the  meal  was  finally  served  it  proved  to  be  warmed 
"corned  willie,"  coffee  and  bread.  The  men  were  so 
hungry  that  they  ate  this  food  ravenously  and  pro- 
nounced it  very  good. 

When  the  details  returned  from  Pontenazen  bar- 
racks with  their  food  no  place  was  found  where  it 
could  be  stored,  so  it  was  thrown  together  in  huge 
piles  on  the  ground.  Many  mounds  of  bread  reached  a 
height  of  eight  or  ten  feet  and  covered  several  square 
yards  of  ground ;  but  after  the  evening  meal  had  been 
served  it  was  astonishing  how  these  piles  of  food  had 
vanished. 

The  shelter  tents  were  lined  up  in  the  field,  with 
usual  military  precision  and  even  though  a  large  part 
of  the  ground  covered  by  the  tents  was  rough  or  sog- 
gy, the  men  had  no  choice  but  to  accept  their  bed- 
places,  as  they  were  allotted.  They  sorely  missed  the 
blankets  which  had  been  taken  up  at  Camp  Mills, 
for  the  heat  of  the  day  early  gave  way  in  the  evening 
to  a  damp  coolness  and  one  blanket  was  entirely  insuf- 
ficient during  the  night.  Most  of  the  men  used  their 
raincoats  and  overcoats  as  bedding  and  covered  with 
their  single  blankets,  but  each  night  they  suffered  in- 


Brest. 


99 


tensely  from  the  cold.  One  reason  why  it  affected 
them  so  severely  was  the  proximity  of  the  camp  to 
the  ocean  which  allowed  damp  sea  breezes  to  blow  over 
the  camp  at  night.  The  air  was  so  damp  each  morn- 
ing when  the  men  arose  that  their  tents  were  liter- 
ally soaked  with  water  and  any  tent,  though  able  to 
have  withstood  the  hard  rains  of  Texas  and  Okla- 
homa, was  easily  made  to  leak  upon  being  slightly 
rubbed  from  the  inside. 


A   gun   squad   with   piece    and   caisson   ready   for   action. 

The  men  of  the  61st  Brigade  were  sturdy,  healthy 
fellows,  but  the  first  night's  experience  in  France 
caused  a  number  of  them  to  become  ill,  and  severe 
colds  developed.  A  number  of  the  men  were  weak- 
ened by  the  long  ocean  voyage  they  had  just  com- 
pleted and  were  therefore  in  no  condition  to  stand 
the  severe  strain.  Sore  throats,  deep  colds  and  coughs 
became  so  prevalent  that  the  medical   officers   were 


100  Trail  of  the  61st 

kept  busy,  and  a  number  of  men  were  sent  to  hospitals 
with  pneumonia. 

As  soon  as  billets  could  be  secured  in  Pontenazen 
barracks  several  units  were  transferred  there,  though 
the  whole  brigade  was  not  provided  for  in  this  man- 
ner; a  large  number  of  the  soldiers  were  forced  to 
remain  encamped  in  shelter  tents  until  their  depart- 
ure for  Redon  and  such  troops  as  did  reach  Pontena- 
zen barracks  did  not  fare  mucb  better  than  those  left 
behind  in  open  wheat  fields.  They  were  placed  in 
old  stone  barracks  where  they  were  huddled  together 
in  discomfort  and  in  many  instances  were  forced  to 
sleep  on  damp  concrete  floors  which  for  years  had 
been  untouched  by  the  sun's  rays. 

Pontenezan  barracks  was  reported  to  have  been 
built  by  Napoleon  during  the  height  of  his  military 
power.  It  was  enclosed  by  a  high  stone  wall  about 
four  or  five  feet  in  height,  and  contained  several  rows 
of  large  stone  barracks — each  row  about  two  hundred 
yards  in  length  from  front  to  rear — and  many  wooden 
billets  w^hich  had  been  constructed  at  suitable  spots 
on  the  grounds.  Also,  tents  were  so  scattered  over 
the  camp  that  it  resembled  an  American  fair  grounds, 
with  its  main  buildings  of  concrete  and  side  shows  of 
tents  and  wooden  shacks. 

The  wooden  barracks,  make-shift  structures  has- 
tily thrown  together  to  take  care  of  the  great  number 
of  troops  constantly  entering  the  camp,  were  equipped 
with  triple-decked,  wooden  bunks,  entirely  new  to  the 
American  soldiers,  though  they  later  became  much 
better  acquainted  with  this  style  of  bed.  When  the 
men  first  saw  their  bunks  they  had  misgivings,  but 
after  trying  to  sleep  on  them  for  one  night  they 
learned  how  uncomfortable  they  really  were.     It  was 


Brest.  104 ' 

impossible  to  get  hay  for  bedsack^,  so  the  men-  w.9i"e 
forced  to  sleep  on  the  hard  slat  bottoms  of  the  bunks, 
protected  from  the  wood  only  by  thin  bed-sacks  and 
two  thicknesses  of  their  overcoats  and  raincoats. 
They  were  tremendously  uncomfortable  but  had  no 
way  of  changing  their  conditions. 

The  stone  barracks  were  bare  enclosures  with 
small  high  windows  and  were  separated  at  regular 
intervals  by  partitions  of  concrete.  The  streets  be- 
tween these  barracks  were  narrow  and  surfaced  with 
a  hard  substance  that  had  been  unsuccessful  in  with- 
standing the  wear  of  the  elements  and  was  bumpy  and 
uneven.  The  buildings,  though  old,  were  solid  and 
substantial.  Some  of  them  had  both  upper  and  lower 
rooms,  though  most  of  them  were  one-story,  barn-like 
affairs  full  of  dampness  and  must. 

The  tents  were  much  more  comfortable,  but 
most  of  them  were  occupied  by  officers  who  man- 
aged to  have  comfortable  beds  and  fair  accommoda- 
tions while  in  Pontenazen  Barracks.  They  had  bed 
rolls  on  which  to  sleep  and  their  tents  were  furled 
during  the  day  so  the  sun  could  keep  them  dry  and 
sanitary.  These  accommodations  were  bad  enough 
but  were  preferable  to  the  old  stone  barracks  or  the 
makeshift  shacks. 

Pontenazen  Barracks  was  supplied  with  a  com- 
missary and  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building  which  the  men 
were  allowed  to  freely  visit.  The  commissary  was 
open  only  at  short  intervals  each  day,  but  when  it 
v/as  open  the  men  could  buy  sweets  and  needed 
^,rticles,  besides  exchanging  their  American  money 
for  French  money.  The  **Y"  appealed  especially 
to  the  men  at  this  time,  for  splendid  programs  were 
given  at  the  hut  each  night,   where  several   leading 


:.02 


Trail  of  the  61st 


men  from  the  Vv^inter  Garden  in  New  York  were  play- 
'*ng  during  the  time  the  men  of  the  61st  were  in  Pon- 
tenazen  Barracks.  These  programs  were  entirely 
without  charge  but  the  soldiers  declared  that  they 
had  never  seen  better  vaudeville  playing  anywhere 
in  America.  The  men  also  spent  much  of  their  time  at 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  hut  in  writing  home  and  it  was  here 


The  kind  of  engine  that  is  used  to  pull  coaches  of  the  "40  homraes,  8  chevaux" 
variety.  Compared  to  our  big,  powerful  engines,  these  little  iron  horses  do  not 
make  a  very  good  impression,  though  many  American  engineers  have  said  that 
for  their  size  the  French  engines  have  more  pulling  capacity  thaji  the  American 
engine. 


they  first  learned  the  postal  regulations  governing 
A.  E.  F.  mail  and  were  allowed  to  mail  their  letters 
without  paying  postage  on  them. 

Some  men  were  allowed  to  visit  the  town  of 
Brest,  but  only  a  few  were  granted  this  privilege ; 
most  of  those  v/ho  did  visit  Brest  returned  not  very 
enthusiastic  about  it.  The  men  had  their  first  intro- 
duction to  wine  there  and  many  a  good  "non-com'' 
lost    his    rank    by    ''falling    off    the    water    wagon." 


Brest  103 

Most  of  the  men  who  drank  seemed  to  have  a  special 
preference  for  Cognac  and  rum,  though  several  tried 
out  the  virtues  of  vin  rouge,  vin  blanc  and  champagne. 

Some  formi  of  play  was  engaged  in  at  Pontenazen 
Barracks  during  all  hours  of  the  day,  as  the  Y.  M.  C. 
A.  provided  paraphernalia  for  such  entertainments. 
One  of  the  most  popular  games  was  baseball,  which 
was  played  almost  continually,  the  various  units  being 
allowed  to  get  gloves,  bats  and  such  material  from 
the  athletic  men  at  the  **Y."  These  units  played  games 
among  themselves  and  some  of  their  games  were  of 
high  grade  because  of  the  abundance  of  talent  among 
the  soldiers,  many  of  whom  had  played  either  profes- 
sional or  school  ball.  Boxing  came  in  for  its  share  of 
popularity,  also,  and  though  contests  were  held  only 
during  the  evenings  and  late  afternoons,  large  numbers 
of  men  gathered  to  watch  these  contests,  especially 
when  negro  boxers  were  engaged.  It  was  a  difficult 
task  to  get  two  negroes  to  box,  but  when  they  did  get 
into  the  ring  there  was  sure  to  be  a  slugging  match 
that  produced  merriment.  Some  football  was  played 
but  not  enough  to  count  for  anything  in  comparison 
with  the  other  two  sports.  The  men  kicked  footballs 
around  the  field  but  no  real  games  were  staged,  as  the 
weather  was  much  too  warm  for  this  sport. 

Some  training  was  engaged  in  by  several  units 
of  the  brigade,  but  the  majority  of  the  troops  were 
allowed  to  recuperate  as  much  as  possible  from  their 
long  ocean  voyage,  games  and  recreational  activities 
being  indulged  in  more  than  anything  else. 

The  debarkation  camps  adjacent  to  Brest  were 
supposed  to  be  rest  camps  but  as  one  of  the  soldiers 
aptly  remarked,  *The  only  rest  about  them  was  that 
the    soldiers    who    were    so    unfortunate    as    to    pass 


104  Trail  of  the  61st 

through  them  would  remember  their  awful  experience 
there  the  REST  of  their  lives.'' 

Facilities  for  taking  care  of  soldiers  at  Brest 
were  so  poor  that  criticism  from  all  over  the  world 
has  been  centered  on  those  responsible  for  conditions 
in  the  camp.  Colonel  Birkhead,  commander  of  the  131st 
F.  A.,  said  several  months  after  leaving  Brest  that  "the 
man,  regardless  of  whether  he  was  the  Commanding 
General  of  the  American  Expeditionary  Forces  or  the 
most  inefficient  second  lieutenant  in  the  army,  ought 
to  be  court-martialed  for  the  conditions  at  Brest." 
This  remark  was  caused  by  the  frightful  manner  in 
which  the  men  of  his  regiment  had  been  treated 
while  encamped  there. 

While  the  61st  Brigade  was  in  Brest,  President 
Poincare  of  the  French  republic  visited  Pontenazen 
Barracks  and  gave  a  lecture,  the  soldiers  from  the 
whole  camp  turning  out  en  masse  to  hear  and  see  him. 
Most  of  them  were  disappointed,  because  their  imagi- 
nations had  pictured  President  Poincare  as  being  a 
wonderful  man  and  when  they  heard  him  speak 
they  found  him  to'  be  only  an  ordinary  one. 

Those  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  have  retained 
any  money  from  the  expenses  of  their  voyage,  em- 
braced the  opportunity  of  exchanging  their  American 
money  for  French  money.  Their  attempts  to  count 
the  francs  and  centimes  after  having  received  them, 
caused  much  fun  among  the  entire  brigade  though 
only  a  few  men  had  any  money  to  exchange. 

On  June  17th  the  brigade  received  orders  to  en- 
train the  following  day  for  Redon,  France;  at  two- 
thirty  on  the  morning  of  the  18th  they  were  on  their 
way  to  the  cars  which  were  to  take  them  to  their  new 
destination.     At  this  early  hour  they  were  unable  to 


Brest  105 

observe  the  routes  they  followed,  but  after  a  long, 
fatiguing  march  arrived  at  the  trains,  several  units 
having  lost  their  v^ay  en  route. 

Breakfast  of  cold  food  was  served  to  them  at 
dayjight  and  they  entrained  at  sunrise.  Officers  were 
quartered  in  coaches  of  the  first  class,  which  were  di- 
vided into  compartments  that  accommodated  eight 
or  ten  men  and  had  interiors  nicely  furnished  with 
rich  upholstering,  wall  mirrors  and  window  curtains. 
Non-commissioned  officers  were  placed  in  second-class 
compartments  which  though  quite  similar  to  the  first- 
class  cars  were  not  as  expensively  finished.  The  pri- 
vates were  loaded  into  box-cars  of  the  "40  hommes, 
8  chevaux"  variety. 


VI. 

REDON 

As  the  trains  slowly  moved  out  of  the  station  at 
Brest  all  aboard  were  pleased  to  be  leaving  the  camp 
where  they  had  passed  such  an  unpleasant  stay  of 
five  days.  They  thought  they  were  scheduled  for  at 
least  an  all-day  ride,  but  they"  did  not  know  for  how 
much  longer,  and  this  fact  lent  additional  interest  to 
the  trip.  They  were  passing  through  new  country 
where  they  were  seeing  new  sights  and  this  also 
added  tremendously  to  their  satisfaction. 

Food,  chiefly  of  corned  willie,  bread  and  a  small 
supply  of  syrup  and  jelly,  had  been  divided  among 
the  men  before  their  entrainment,  each  car  receiving 
its  regulation  supply.  By  eleven  o'clock  the  soldiers 
began  to  grow  hungry  and  many  cars  served  noon  day 
mess  early  on  that  account;  the  soldiers  seemed  to 
feel  that  eating  was  a  duty  necessary  to  be  performed 
with  as  much  dispatch  as  possible.  Because  of  the 
scarcity  of  sweets,  a  close  guard  was  maintained 
over  the  supply  of  jam  and  preserves  in  each  car,  but 
in  spite  of  this  precaution  many  cans  of  jam  were  ap- 
propriated and  eaten  by  enterprising  individuals  who 
enjoyed  quite  sumptuous  meals,  though  the  eating 
of  them  was  done  in  secrecy.  Upon  the  discovery  of  the 
thefts,  custodians  of  the  preserve  supply  blessed  the 
miscreants  with  mighty  oaths  and  threatened  dire 
vengeance  upon  them,  but  all  in  vain,  for  the  mischief 
was  done  and  the  culprits  innocently  disclaimed  any 
responsibility  for  it. 

(106) 


Redon.  107 

The  country  surrounding  Brest  is  rough  and 
broken ;  and  its  large  hills  and  deep  valleys  are  sprin- 
kled with  stunted  undergrowth  which  has  been 
trimmed  and  cut  so  often  that  most  of  the  trees  and 
bushes  are  knotted  and  gnarled  into  fantastic  shapes. 

As  the  train  sped  toward  southern  France,  the 
men  realized  from  the  many  beautiful  views  they  be- 
held that  the  scenery  of  old  Brittainy  must  be  unsur- 
passed by  any  in  western  France.  Cozy  old  farm 
houses,  set  in  the  midst  of  trees  and  flowers  and  sur- 
rounded by  landscapes  dotted  with  small  uneven 
tracts  of  farm  land  in  which  growing  and  ripening 
crops  predominated,  were  seen  in  abundance.  There 
was  little  sameness  or  monotony,  though  houses  were 
very  similar,  and  hedges  were  commonly  used  through- 
out the  country,  a  pretty  spot  here,  a  turn  in  a  white 
bedded  road,  disclosing  an  especially  attractive  stretch 
of  valley  there,  always  saved  the  situation  and  made 
the  soldier  expectant  of  newer  and  more  attractive 
views. 

Buckwheat  was  in  bloom  and  was  growing  in 
such  quantities  that  practically  every  bit  of  farmland 
was  beautified  to  some  extent  by  bright  purple  blos- 
soms. The  soldiers  imagined  upon  seeing  so  many 
fields  of  buckwheat  that  France  must  be  a  veritable 
haven  for  bees,  and  since  they  had  lacked  an  abun- 
dance of  sweets  while  in  the  army,  they  conjured  up 
visions  of  the  good  "feeds"  they  would  have  in  this 
country  of  buckwheat  and  bees.  But  they  were  dis- 
appointed in  this  expectation  for  they  saw  scarcely 
any  honey  while  in  France. 

Town  after  town,  with  its  quaint  old  buildings 
of  stone  and  its  winding  rock-walled  streets,  were 
passed  during  the  day  and  by  evening  the  men  had  ac- 


108  Trail  of  the  61st 

quired  a  fairly  good  idea  of  the  general  appearance  of 
the  average  French  town  of  Brittany.  One  notice- 
able thing  about  these  French  towns  was  their  near- 
ness to  each  other ;  it  seemed  to  the  soldiers  that  their 
trains  passed  through  towns  about  half  of  the  time, 
and  this  was  almost  literally  true. 

During  the  afternoon  news  became  distributed 
that  the  brigade  would  detrain  at  Redon,  a  little  town 
of  about  five  thousand  inhabitants,  situated  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  kilometers  southeast  of  Brest, 
in  the  French  state  of  Ill-et-Villaine.  This  town 
was  reached  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  when 
the  soldiers  detrained  and  marched  from  the  station 
to  a  vacant  spot  on  the  outskirts  of  town,  and  pitched 
camp  for  the  night. 

The  men  were  impressed  with  Redon  from  the 
first  view  they  had  of  it  and  they  were  also  favorably 
impressed  with  the  people  who  came  out  to  camp  im- 
mediately after  the  troops  arrived,  to  show  their  hos- 
pitality and  appreciation. 

After  remaining  all  night  in  shelter  tents,  the 
brigade  arose  early  the  next  morning  to  roll  packs 
and  clean  camp  preparatory  to  leaving  for  their  bil- 
lets. By  noon  practically  all  units  were  established 
in  town,  the  enlisted  men  being  billeted  in  barns  and 
houses,  and  brigade,  regimental,  battalion  and  bat- 
tery headquarters  were  established  in  special  buildings. 
Brigade  Headquarters  was  stationed  in  an  attractive 
old  chateau. 

This  chateau,  an  old  building  of  the  middle- 
eighteenth  century  design,  was  situated  in  a  plot  of 
several  acres  of  undulating  ground  beautified  by  mag- 
nificent flower  plants  and  semi-tropical   fruit  trees. 


Redon.  109 

The  garden  and  lawn  were  strikingly  beautiful.  The 
chateau  sat  back  about  three  hundred  yards  from  the 
main  street  leading  from  the  business  section  of  the 
town  past  the  chateau  and  was  approached  by  a 
winding,  hard-surtaced,  flower-bordered  driveway, 
which  opened  into  the  grounds  through  a  typical 
French  gate  and  led  by  devious  turns  to  the  old  house. 
In  following  this  driveway  a  visitor  was  almost  star- 
tled by  the  sudden  view  of  the  chateau  as  the  road 
emerged  from  behind  a  screen  of  low  flower-iaden 
vines,  and  a  sweeping  view  of  the  grounds  and  build- 
ings opened  before  him. 

The  chateau  was  constructed  of  French  stone, 
surfaced  with  an  attractive  coating  of  concrete  so 
skillfully  applied  that  the  casual  observer  was  in- 
veigled into  the  belief  that  he  was  looking  at  the  nat- 
ural stone  itself.  It  was  built  on  severe  straight  lines, 
and  showed  little  signs  of  the  wear  and  tear  of  years 
of  weathering.  True  to  the  usual  French  style  of  ar- 
chitecture, the  doors  opened  directly  upon  a  concrete 
walk  which  ran  along  the  entire  front  of  the  building, 
the  door  sills  of  stone  being  plumb  with  the  walk.  The 
floors  of  the  low^er  rooms  were  pieces  of  stone  which 
had  been  placed  with  regularity  at  some  time,  though 
now  they  were  uneven  and  rough  from  usage.  The 
rooms  were  of  irregular  shape  and  size,  and  though 
containing  a  number  of  turns  and  corners,  were  rather 
stern  and  forbidding  in  appearance,  being  saved  from 
unsightliness  bv  snow-white  curtains  at  the  windows 
and  little  bric-a-brac  tucked  away  in  the  nooks  and 
indentures. 

The  main  entrance  was  in  the  center  of  the  build- 
ing, and  it  opened  into  a  short,  wide  hall,  which  ended 


110  Trail  of  the  61st 

in  a  broad,  winding  stairway  that  led  to  low  ceilinged 
rooms  above,  quite  similar  in  appearance  and  con- 
struction to  those  below.  A  hallway  ran  the  full  dis- 
tance of  the  upper  floor,  at  various  points  opening 
onto  a  balustraded  gallery  which  commanded  a  splen- 
did view  of  Redon  and  the  surrounding  country.  The 
gallery  proved  to  be  a  favorite  spot  with  officers  of 
brigade  headquarters  and  with  such  non-commissioned 
officers  of  that  organization  as  developed  the  temerity 
to  visit  it. 

The  lady  owner  of  the  chateau  retained  only  two 
or  three  rooms  for  her  use  and  allowed  the  General 
and  his  staff  the  use  of  the  remainder  of  the  house.  The 
enlisted  men  were  housed  in  a  barn  which  lay  about  one 
hundred  yards  distant  from  the  chateau,  and  they  made 
themselves  comfortable  in  the  lofts  of  this  building, 
where  they  found  an  abundance  of  dry  hay  with  which 
to  make  beds.  The  men  were  surprised  to  learn  that 
the  servants  lived  in  one  end  of  the  barn,  and  the 
family  horse  in  the  central  part,  while  the  tool  house, 
with  loft  overhead,  completed  the  other  wing  of  the 
building. 

About  half  way  between  the  chateau  and  the  barn 
was  a  garage  which  the  chief  mechanic  and  his  men 
occupied.  The  lower  part  of  this  garage  was  used 
for  cars  and  motorcycles  and  the  upper  part,  which 
had  been  provided  with  stairs  leading  to  a  very  cozy 
little  room  above,  was  used  as  living  quarters  for 
the  men.  The  sound  of  puffing  cars  remonstrating 
against  the  attentions  of  the  chief  mechanic  and  his 
tribe  could  be  heard  at  almost  any  hour  of  the  day, 
for  here  the  cars  and  motorcycles  of  the  entire  brig- 
ade were  sent  to  be  overhauled  and  put  into  shape. 

The  balcony  of  the  chateau  overlooked  a  canal, 
which  ran  through  the  town  of  Redon  and  along  which 


Redon  111 

Frenchmen  and  women  pulled  barges  of  produce 
to  town.  It  was  a  strange  sight  to  the  Americans  to 
see  the  French  people  transport  their  products  on  the 
canal,  for  never  before  had  they  seen  humans  act- 
ing as  beasts  of  burden;  they  were  always  interested 
in  watching  these  Frenchmen  as  they  walked  along 
the  banks  of  the  canal  pulling  barges  by  great  ropes. 
Sometimes  draft  horses  and  mules  were  used  for  this 
work  but  more  often  men  and  women  were  seen 
straining  and  pulling  at  the  ropes. 

As  soon  as  the  men  became  acquainted  with  the 
canal  they  expressed  a  desire  to  swim  in  it,  the  scar- 
city of  bathing  facilities  in  the  town  and  the  attrac- 
tiveness of  the  canal  water  creating  this  desire.  They 
did  not  have  to  wait  long  for  this  pleasure,  for  regi- 
mental orders  were  soon  issued  providing  for  bathing 
in  the  canal  at  regular  intervals.  The  first  group  to 
enter  the  water  did  so  with  glee,  expecting  enjoyment 
therefrom,  but  what  was  their  dismay  to  find  the 
water  extremely  dirty  and  the  bed  of  the  canal  cov- 
ered with  about  a  foot  or  two  of  sticky,  grimy  mud 
which  clung  to  their  bodies  with  such  tenacity  that 
they  were  unable  to  rid  themselves  entirely  of  it  and 
left  the  water  feeling  more  unclean  than  upon  enter- 
ing it.  As  soon  as  news  of  this  bath  spread  over  the 
brigade  consternation  overtook  the  remainder  of  the 
men,  for  they  did  not  desire  to  undergo  this  same  un- 
pleasantness;  but  the  bathing  orders  remained  in  ef- 
fect and  practically  every  man  in  the  brigade  was 
compelled  to  bathe  in  the  canal  before  leaving  Redon. 

Adjacent  to  the  canal  throughout  its  entire  course, 
were  washing  places  used  by  French  women,  w^ho  con- 
gregated from  day  to  day  in  small  groups  to  do  their 
weekly  washing.  These  women  gathered  around 
rough  concrete  basins  of  water  to  wash  their  clothes, 


112 


Trail  of  the  61st 


either  using  the  basins  which  were  usually  about 
twenty  or  thirty  feet  square  and  three  or  four  feet 
deep,  or  the  canal  itself,  where  they  arranged  logs 
and  rough  platforms  on  which  to  stand  while  doing 
their  work.  The  process  they  used  was  new^  to  the 
American  soldiers,  who  saw  clothes  first  dipped  into 
the  water  until  they  had  become  well  soaked,  after 


A  French  woman  and  her  cows.    This  woman  has  her  knitting  aaid  is  there- 
fore "doing  her  bit"  even  while  watching  the  cows. 

which  they  were  placed  on  rocks,  concrete  blocks  or 
pieces  of  wood,  and  beaten  by  thick,  flat  paddles  made 
for  this  purpose.  The  resounding  thwacks  of  these 
paddles,  as  they  were  wielded  by  the  sturdy  French 
women,  soon  became  familiar  to  the  soldiers  who 
never  tired  of  watching  the  women  at  this  work. 

Redon  faced  another  small  town,  across  the  canal, 
and  during  practically  all  hours  of  the  day  the  chim- 
ing, deep  tones  of  church  bells  from  this  little  town 
floated  over  the  valley,  reminding  the  men  of  Sunday 
mornings  at  home,  when  similar  sounding  church  bells 
tolled  forth  signals  for  church  services  and  Sunday 


Redon  113 

school.  The  tolling  of  the  bells  came  to  be  more  of  a 
nuisance  than  a  pleasure  to  the  soldiers  before  they  left 
Redon,  for  regardless  of  the  hours  of  the  day  or  of  the 
occupation  in  which  the  men  were  engaged  the  ever 
tolling  bells  were  to  be  heard.  If  a  soldier  awakened 
during  the  night  he  was  likely  to  hear  bells  ringing;  if 
he  attempted  to  catch  a  little  nap  during  the  day  he  was 
kept  awake  by  the  clanging,  clamorous  chimes  of  a 
multitude  of  ringing,  rumbling  bells — bells  that  tolled 
and  doled  incessantly.  He  was  lulled  to  sleep  by  bells, 
he  was  awakened  by  bells  and  he  was  entertained  day 
and  night  by  bells,  until  he  became  sick  and  tired  of 
them,  hoping  for  the  day  when  he  could  return  to  a  land 
where  towns  were  not  so  close  together  and  where 
bells  were  practically  unknown. 

Regardless  of  these  feelings,  however,  there  was 
something  peculiarly  chaste  and  softening  in  the 
sounds  floating  so  majestically  from  the  bell  towers 
of  the  old  weather-scarred  churches  of  this  ancient 
little  town.  During  the  early  mornings  peals  of  dis- 
tant church  bells  awakened  the  soldiers,  mellowing 
their  hardening  spirits  into  a  realization  that  the 
world  was  beautiful  and  good,  even  if  it  did  compel 
them  to  devote  their  time  and.  energies  to  the  work 
of  war.  No  grander  prayer  than  the  tolling  of  these 
early  bells  could  have  been  offered  to  the  stirring 
camp  of  busy  soldiers  each  morning  as  they  arose  to 
face  the  monotony  and  grind  of  their  daily  work,  and 
they  unconsciously  acknowledged  it  by  their  actions. 

Instead  of  stopping  in  Redon,  when  it  detrained 
there,  the  llltli  Ammunition  Train  marched  to  Feg- 
reac  where  shelter  tents  were  pitched  August  21,  at 
7:30  a.  m.  Companies  "C"  and  "D"  were  left  on  de- 
tached service  at  Brest  and  did  not  rejoin  the  train 
while  in   France.     These  two   companies  were   soon 


114 


Trail  of  the  61st 


sent  to  the  trenches  where  they  saw  hard  service  and 
had  many  men  and  officers  killed  in  battle. 

When  the  cars  bearing  the  Ammunition  Train 
pulled  up  at  Redon  at  two-thirty  in  the  morning  and 
the  soldiers  were  ordered  to  detrain,  they  were 
awakened  with  difficulty  and  officers  were  compelled 
to  visit  practically  every  compartment  of  the  cars 
to  get  them.    But  after  being  ordered  into  formation, 


^5,7    *i-iurc-c!»  v*r.:t,itoc    I    «'.■ 


\.f  j^^.^ir^^i  i  nh^fin  ii  V^r  I  ji.'i<  roui?  dc  C^r'tR!^^',;'  e*  <!*■  rifjfiic 


Maure,  France,  one  of  the  towns  in  which  the  111th  Ammunition  Train  was 
stationed  before  going  to  Camp  de  Coetquidan. 

they  began  their  march,  which  led  through  Redon 
over  beautiful  hard-surfaced  roads,  in  the  moonlight, 
to  Fegreac,  which  was  reached  at  daybreak.  Until 
they  stopped  at  Fegreac  they  were  uncertain  as  to 
their  destination,  the  prevailing  opinion  being  that 
they  were  approaching  the  front,  since  they  had  been 
traveling  throughout  the  night  and  were  at  that  time 
unfamiliar  with  the  size  of  France  or  the  distance  to 
the  front. 


Redon  115 

They  were  ordered  to  pitch  shelter  tents  in  a 
pasture  about  one  kilometer  from  Fegreac,  where 
they  disappointedly  settled  themselves  to  camp  life,  to 
experience  the  same  inconveniences  from  lack  of  bed 
clothing  that  they  did  at  Brest.  Many  took  deep  colds 
and  became  so  ill  that  ambulances  from  Coetquidan 
soon  were  common  in  camp. 

The  Train  remained  at  Fegreac,  where  it  trained 
in  preparation  for  the  front,  until  September  5,  when 
it  moved  to  Maxent,  a  town  about  fifteen  kilometers 
from  Coetquidan.  While  en  route  to  Maxent  it  was 
divided,  the  Motor  Battalion  going  to  Louthel,  and 
the  Horsed  Battalion  continuing  on  to  Maxent.  At 
Maxent  the  first  French  equipment  was  received  and 
the  Americans  became  acquainted  with  the  intri- 
cacies of  French  machinery,  especially  harness  and 
wagons,  which  were  entirely  different  from  what 
they  had  been  accustomed  to  using  in  America. 

By  September  27th  all  of  the  Train  except  the 
two  companies  at  the  front,  had  arrived  at  Maure,  and 
it  was  here  that  the  main  part  of  its  training  in  France 
was  undergone.  The  schedule  was  divided  between 
drills,  the  hauling  of  ammunition,  equitation,  the 
handling  of  horses,  gas  drill  and  long,  difficult  hikes. 
In  short,  the  Train  underwent  rigid  training  for  the 
front,  this  work  being  diminished,  of  course,  after 
the  signing  of  the  armistice.  It  was  at  Maure  that 
Lieut.  Col.  Stevenson  endeared  himself  to  his  men  by 
the  soldierly  manner  in  which  he  conducted  the 
Train;  he  was  always  *'on  the  job"  and  seemed  more 
like  a  careful,  just  father  to  the  fellows  than  a 
stern  disciplinarian.  He  was  always  easily  approach- 
able by  the  rankest  private  as  well  as  by  the  highest 
ranking  officer,  but  one  demand  that  he  imposed  upon 
his  officers  was  that  they  take  especial  care  of  the 


116 


Trail  of  the  61st 


housing  and  feeding  of  their  men.  He  was  careful 
of  his  men  in  respect  to  comfort  and  proper  food,  but 
his  hobby  was  sanitation.  He  thought  sanitation, 
acted  sanitation  and  talked  sanitation,  in  fine,  was  a 
walking  representative  of  sanitation.  This  is  easily 
understood  when  his  profession  is  taken  into  con- 
sideration, for  before  entering  the  service  he  was  one 


A  splendid  view  of  the  buildings  occupied  by  General  Pershing  and  his  «taff 
at  Chaumont.  G.  H.  Q.  was  located  at  Paris  until  the  First  Army  was  well 
organized  and  put  into  the  line,  when  it  was  removed  to  Chaumont,  where  it 
remained  during  the  remainder  of  the  war. 


of  the  most  prominent  physicians  in  Texas.  During 
the  serious  epidemic  at  Camp  Bowie  he  proved  his 
medical  ability  by  taking  control  of  the  situation  in 
camp  and  bringing  order  and  health  out  of  chaos  and 
disease. 

After  Maure,  the  train  was  moved  to  Camp 
Coetquidan,  where  it  again  joined  the  61st  Brigade, 
the  first  time  since  leaving  Camp  Bowie. 


Redon  117 

As  soon  as  the  men  of  the  brigade  become  set- 
tled in  their  new  surroundings  in  Redon  a  course  of 
instruction  was  outlined  by  General  Stephens  and 
the  first  real  work  in  France  began.  Officers  under- 
went a  course  of  instruction  under  the  immediate  di- 
rection of  General  Stephens,  while  the  men  were  given 
special  instruction  in  Orientation,  Gunnery,  Visual 
Signaling,  Physical  Drills  and  especially  the  O'Grady 
exercises. 

Also,  schools  for  enlisted  men  were  organized  '.o 
teach  such  subjects  as  Telephone  Work,  Telegraphy, 
Orientation,  Topography  and  Gunnery  and  consider- 
able emphasis  was  placed  upon  gas  drill,  a  brigade 
officer  being  appointed  to  conduct  training  in  gas  de- 
fense. The  men  were  required  to  wear  gas  nnsks 
during  stated  intervals  every  day  and  they  became 
so  accustomed  to  their  masks  that  they  learned  to 
sleep  with  them  on. 

The  men  of  the  61st  had  come  in  contact  wii\i 
General  Stephens  frequently  after  he  joined  *"he  brig- 
ade at  Camp  Mills,  but  they  did  not  become  really 
acquainted  with  him  until  after  their  arrival  in 
Redon.  The  general's  car  was  to  be  seen  over  town 
or  among  the  billets  of  the  soldiers  at  all  hour?  of 
the  day,  and  wherever  he  appeared  they  learned  to 
come  snappily  to  attention  and  to  carefully  salute 
him.  General  Stephens  was  a  friend  to  his  soldiers, 
but  he  demanded  that  they  be  careful  of  military  cour- 
tesies and  exact  in  the  performance  of  their  duti.e:^. 
He  made  a  point  of  appearing  among  them  when  they 
least  expected  him  and  of  administering  reprimands 
to  such  men  as  were  dilatory  in  responding  imme- 
diately to  his  presence.  When  he  observed  a  soldier 
or  group  of  soldiers  who  failed  to  come  to  atten^ 
tion  as  his  car  sped  by  he  always  made  a  point  of 


118 


Trail  of  the  61st 


stopping  his  car  and  of  calling  the  attention  of  these 
men  to  the  fact  that  they  had  been  guilty  of  a  breach 


One  of  the  billets  where  men  of  the  61st  lived  before  going  to  Coetquidan. 
Such  rickety  stairways  as  that  leading  to  the  entrace  of  this  billet  were  not  al- 
together desirable  for  those  soldiers  who  associated  too  freely  with  vin  rouge 
and  found  their  way  home  "after  hours." 

of  military  courtesy.  He  was  punctilious  in  his  hab- 
its, careful  in  his  manners,  and  at  all  times  military 
to  the  last  degree,  exacting  similar  conduct  from  men 
and  officers  in  his  brigade.  He  was  just  as  quick 
to  correct  an  officer — colonel  or  lieutenant — when  he 
observed  some  slackness  in  them,  as  he  was  an  en- 


Redon  119 

listed  man,  and  the  soldiers  early  learned  to  have 
confidence  in  his  justness,  realizing  that  he  was  not 
partial  to  his  officers. 

General  Stephens  commenced  visiting  imme- 
diately after  his  arrival  in  Redon  and  his  drivers 
found  that  he  was  constantly  on  the  alert  to  locate 
other  general  officers  in  order  to  meet  them  and 
learn  more  about  conditions  in  France.  He  attempted 
to  keep  in  touch  with  the  military  situation  as  nearly 
as  possible  at  all  times,  his  activity  in  this  respect 
probably   being  instrumental   in  his   early   death. 

The  brigade's  stay  in  Redon  was  important  to  the 
soldiers  because  it  afforded  their  first  opportunity  to 
come  in  close  contact  with  French  life  and  permitted 
them  to  form  intelligent  conclusions  about  the  French 
people.  The  men  were  allowed  a  considerable  degree 
of  freedom  during  their  evenings  and  they  used  this 
time  to  meet  the  townspeople  and  to  grow  acquainted 
v/ith  them,  as  well  as  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  the 
wine-rooms  and  restaurants. 

These  places  were  revelations  to  the  American 
soldiers,  most  of  whom  had  been  away  so  long 
from  anything  that  resembled  drinking  houses  as  to 
be  almost  surprised  that  such  pleasureable  spots 
were  still  in  existence.  They  flocked  downtown  in 
great  numbers  to  bright,  attractive  little  rooms  where 
they  were  served  splendid  French  meals  and  drinks 
by  French  waitresses  who  added  spice  and  enjoy- 
ment to  the  servings  by  their  amusing  efforts  to  talk 
to  the  men  in  English.  The  average  French  restau- 
rant opened  directly  on  the  street  and  was  a  little  bare 
room  containing  counters,  where  people  could  pur- 
chase lunches  of  cheese,  milk,  wine,  or  where  there 
were  both  counters  and  tables,  which  were  either  small 


120 


Trail  of  the  61st 


enough  to  accommodate  only  two  people,  or  large 
f-nough  for  family  use.  If  the  soldiers  were  especially 
hungry  they  could  make  their  wants  known  and  im- 
mediately be  rewarded  by  seeing  placed  before  them  a 
meal  peculiarly  satisfying  and  touched  off  by  a  bottle  of 
sparkling  wine.     One  kind  of  French  food,  in  partic- 


Gun  drill  in  the  rain  preparatory  to  the  "Battle  of  Coetquidan."  The  men 
became  so  accustomed  to  working  in  the  rain  that  they  served  their  pieces  and 
executed  their  drills  without  thinking  about  the  weather. 

ular,  appealed  to  the  soldiers,  and  that  was  French 
bread,  so  baked  that  it  had  a  thick,  hard  crust  and 
a  coarse  heavy  grain,  but  with  a  flavor  that  blended 
ideally  with  wines,  fruit  and  butter.  French  br.id 
and  butter  was  especially  appetizing,  and  the  men  could 
never  get  enough  of  it,  as  bread  tickets — printed 
slips  necessary  to  have  in  one's  possession  before 
bread  could  be  sold  to  him, — were  hard  to  secure. 
Regardless  of  restrictions,  however,  many  loaves 
of  bread  found  their  way  to  the  soldiers,  due  to  the 
kindness    of    brown-eyed,    chic    little    French    lasses 


Redon  121 

who  saw  to  it  that  their  American  friends  were  well 
supplied. 

The  inroads  upon  the  French  food  supply,  by  the 
soldiers  became  so  marked  in  Redon  that  French  au- 
thorities remonstrated,  saying  that  unless  some  re- 
strictions were  imposed  upon  the  Americans  the 
townspeople  of  Redon  would  suffer  from  lack  of 
food.  As  a  result,  before  the  brigade  left  for  Coei- 
quidan  it  became  practically  impossible  for  Ameri- 
cans to  buy  even  bread  and  jellies,  though  some  were 
able  to  secure  these  foods  in  fairly  substantial  quanti- 
ties from  good-natured  French  vendors,  and  others 
paid  no  attention  to  the  orders  but  continued  to  go  to 
the  restaurants,  where  they  were  furnished  gocf! 
meals  by  the  obliging  townspeople,  who  were  not  in 
sympathy  with  the  authorities. 

Many  American  boys  and  French  girls  became 
acquainted  with  each  other  in  French  cafes  where  les- 
sons in  both  French  and  English  were  exchanged. 
The  soldiers  could  learn  French  quite  easily  from  at- 
tractive French  maids,  although  they  experienced 
great  difficulty  in  acquiring  any  knowledge  of 
the  language  from  text  books  or  regular  teachers, 
and  the  same  thing  can  be  said  of  the  French  girls, 
who  preferred  to  learn  their  English  from  jovial 
American  soldiers.  The  attempts  of  these  young 
people  to  talk  to  each  other  were  amusing,  though 
underlying  all  of  this  merriment  was  a  sincere  desire 
to  make  each  other  understood  and  thereby  to  become 
better  acquainted. 

While  the  opportunity  to  study  the  town  was 
beneficial  to  most  of  the  men  it  had  a  bad  effect  on 
a  few,  for  the  sight  of  three  or  four  good  friends 
helping  a  belated  comrade  to  his  billet  after  he  had 
been  a  little  too  free  in  partaking  of  wine  and  cognac 


122 


Trail  of  the  61st 


became  frequent.  Yet  when  we  remember  that  many 
of  these  soldiers  were  placed  for  the  first  time  where 
they  could  procure  all  the  liquor  they  desired  much 
credit  is  due  them  for  the  small  amount  of  drunken- 
ness that  occurred  and  for  the  mannerly  way  in  wiuch 


Graveyard  at  Coetquidan.  Men  of  the  61st  who  died  in  Coetquidan  were 
buried  here,  and  pine  crosses  bearing  the  names  and  organizations  of  ea,ch  man 
mark  their  graves 


they  deported  themselves.  Even  though  military  rules 
forbade  any  man  from  becoming  intoxicated,  all  of 
the  soldiers  knew  that  they  could  get  stronger  drinks 
than  the  light  wines  and  beers  they  were  allowed,  and 
their  abstemiousness  under  such  circumstances  re- 
flects much  credit  upon  them. 

An  enjoyable  feature  in  the  life  at  Redon  was  the 
picking  of  blackberries,  which  grew  in  great  quanti- 
ties along  all  the  roadsides.  Each  evening  great 
numbers  of  men  picked  berries  from  the  rank 
vines  which  bore  so  abundantly,  and  most  units  kept 


Redon  12 


o 


their  cooks  supplied  with  enough  berries  to  make 
cobbler  pies  and  jam,  delicacies  they  had  not  enjoyed 
since  the  good  old  Camp  Bowie  days. 

The  French  people  refused  to  eat  blackberries  or 
even  to  gather  them,  since  it  was  against  their  religion 
to  do  so.  One  explanation  of  their  attitude  has  been 
furnished  by  a  priest  in  Paris  who  stated  that  the 
French  people  refused  to  use  the  blackberry  because 
wine  made  from  it  was  supposed  to  have  been  used 
by  Judas  Iscariot  at  the  Lord's  Supper,  when  he 
played  traitor  to  Jesus  Christ.  This  priest  also  vol- 
unteered the  information  that  because  of  the  above 
mentioned  reason  a  governmental  edict  had  been  is- 
sued forbidding  the  use  of  blackberries  by  the  French 
people. 

The  food  question  became  serious  at  Redon,  be- 
cause practically  all  of  the  best  food  was  sent  to  the 
front  and  the  men  back  of  the  lines  had  to  be  con- 
tent with  what  was  issued  to  them.  But  one  vege- 
table that  constantly  remained  with  them  and  had 
done  so  since  their  departure  from  Camp  Mills,  was 
the  navy  bean ;  the  men  were  served  navy  beans  so 
often  and  in  so  many  different  forms  that  they  be- 
came heartily  tired  of  that  vegetable,  and  especially  so 
at  Redon,  where  the  only  variety  obtainable  was  a 
large  flat  bean  with  no  flavor. 

C.  R.  Revis,  (colored)  of  the  347th  labor  battalion 
is  responsible  for  a  little  verse  that  aptly  describes 
the  bean  situation  in  Brest  and  Redon: 

**It  was  beans  for  breakfast;  it  was  beans  for  dinner; 

It  was  beans  for  supper  time. 
It  was  baked  beans,  stewed  beans,  fried  beans. 

Boiled  beans, — beans  rain  or  shine. 


124 


Trail  of  the  61st 


Sometimes  it  was  lamb,  chicken  or  ham, — 
A  stranger  you  may  have  seen; 

But  the  thing  I  mind  was  I  got  mighty  dam  tired 
Of  eatin'  just  beans,  beans,  beans." 


..^^^  >' 


LT.  <"OLONEL   SLOAN   SIMPSON, 
Who  succeeded  Major  Rutan  a.s  Brigade  Adjutant,  in   October,  1918. 

(See  Appendix.) 


The  soldiers  were  unfortunate  in  the  type  of 
French  people  with  whom  they  came  in  contact  at 
Redon;  for  the  majority  of  peasantry  who  live  in  old 
Brittany  are  anything  but  desirable  associates.  The 
men  are  rough,  uncouth,  illiterate  wine-sots,  who  take 
delight  in  abusing  their  wives  and  in  whipping  their 
children.  They  treat  their  stock,  especially  their 
horses,  which  are  usually  sheltered  under  the  same 
roof  with  themselves,  with  unusual  kindness,  as  if 
these  animals  were  much  more  valuable  and  worthy  of 


Redon  125 

kind  attention  than  the  women  and  children  of  their 
households.  They  are  coarse  and  bestial,  and  entirely- 
unacquainted  with  modesty  and  morality. 

The  women  of  this  class  are  strong,  coarse  count- 
erparts of  the  men;  they  do  practically  all  of  the 
work,  both  in  the  households  and  in  the  fields,  are 
meek  and  obedient  in  the  presence  of  their  husbands 
and  masters  and,  judged  by  our  code  of  morals,  are 
entirely  unmoral.  They  are  the  mothers  of  large 
families  of  children  whom  they  leave  to  practically 
shift  for  themselves,  only  assuming  enough  responsi- 
bility over  them  to  provide  necessary  food  and  shelter. 

As  the  people  in  Brest  and  surrounding  country 
belong  to  the  same  class  as  those  at  Redon,  it  is  no 
surprise  that  the  soldiers  of  the  61st  Brigade  should 
have  become  disgusted  with  France  and  her  people. 
But  even  these  low  grade  Frenchmen  had  many  vir- 
tues for  which  they  should  be  commended;  their  re- 
lations with  each  other  and  wuth  the  Americans  were 
always  smoothed  by  an  innate  politeness,  even  their 
slightest  request  being  accompanied  by  an  "if  you 
please,"  and  ownership  of  property  was  so  sacred  to 
them  that  any  kind  of  little  articles,  such  as  clothing 
and  fruit,  were  entirely  safe  from  their  molestation. 
Americans  think  nothing  of  stepping  into  the  orchard 
of  a  stranger  and  helping  themselves  to  a  peach  or  a 
pear,  but  these  French  people  consider  such  an  act  as 
outrageous  and  entirely  unlawful,  under  no  circum- 
stance to  be  permitted.  They  live  in  such  close  contact 
with  each  other  and  are  so  congested  that  they  have 
long  since  learned  to  oil  their  relations  with  politeness, 
and  their  appreciation  of  property  rights  has  been 
forced  upon  them  because  of  their  slender  individual 
means. 


126 


Trail  of  the  61st 


Redon  is  a  very  attractive  old  French  town.  It 
has  a  watch  tower  over  a  city  hall  and  a  central  paved 
quadrangle  which  is  divided  by  a  stone  wall  provided 
with  a  wicker  gate  that  opens  for  traffic  during 
the  day  and  closes  during  the  night.  Each  Saturday 
the  townspeople  and  surrounding  country  folk  flock 
to  town  for  market  day.  Animals  of  all  types  are 
for  sale  at  the  market  place ;  chickens,  held  by  strings 
attached  to  their  feet,  hogs  of  all  sizes  and  varieties,  so 


French  observation  posts  near  Coetquidan. 

tamed  that  they  can  be  easily  controlled  by  one  or 
two  women  and  are  therefore  allowed  to  run  at  large 
in  the  streets,  cattle  led  about  with  ropes  by  peasant 
women  who  are  eager  to  show  what  good  milkers 
they  have,  calves  with  all  four  feet  tied  together  and 
thrown  cruelly  on  their  sides  or  head, — all  bunched  to- 
gether in  one  motley  mass,  with  their  owners  vocifer- 
ously and  consistently  proclaiming  the  wonderful  bar- 
gains they  offer. 


Redon  127 

Two  experienced  French  traders  afforded  as 
great  amusement  to  the  soldiers  as  anything  they  saw 
in  France,  for  these  fellows  seemed  to  consider  that 
half  of  their  success  in  making  a  shrewd  deal  lay  in 
their  ability  to  out-talk  and  out-gesticulate  each  other. 
They  shouted  at  the  top  of  their  voices  and  swung 
their  arms  like  flails,  often  coming  in  such  close  con- 
tact that  apparently  they  were  in  danger  of  doing  each 
other  bodily  harm.  Frequently,  while  they  were  liT 
the  midst  of  such  an  earnest  conversation,  one  of 
the  animals  they  were  trying  to  sell  escaped  from 
them  or  strayed  too  far  away  from  the  market  place, 
in  which  case  they  would  break  off  abruptly  in  their 
conversations  and  dash  after  the  offending  animal  to 
bring  it  back. 

Market  day  was  a  gala  day  in  France  and  though 
held  every  week  was  fully  attended.  During  the  war 
enough  stock  was  brought  to  the  market  at  Redon  to  fill 
a  block  or  two  on  the  market  street ;  and  the  boys  never 
tired  of  watching  the  trades  that  took  place  there. 

On  September  4,  the  Brigade  received  orders  to 
move  overland  to  Coetquidan,  an  artillery  camp  built 
by  Napoleon  and  situated  twenty-four  kilometers  to 
the  east  of  Redon.  Arrangements  for  an  immediate 
departure  were  made  and  great  truck  loads  of  equip- 
ment were  sent  to  Coetquidan  in  advance  by  army 
trucks.  By  11 :30  of  the  5th  all  of  the  units  had  assem- 
bled near  the  tower  in  Redon  and  the  march  across 
country  had  started. 

The  5th  of  September  was  one  of  the  hottest  days 
the  soldiers  had  seen  in  France  and  the  heat  proved 
to  be  especially  oppressive  during  the  march.  The 
men  wore  packs  that  averaged  seventy  pounds  in 
weight  but  marched  a  distance  of  about  fifteen  kilo- 
meters the  first  afternoon.    A  large  number  were  un- 


128 


Trail  of  the  61st 


able  to  stand  the  terrific  strain  and  dropped  out  thor- 
oughly exhausted. 

As  the  men  plodded  rapidly  along  the  hot,  dusty 
road  they  became  thirsty  and  were  forced  to  drink 
freely  from  their  canteens,  so  by  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon  their  supply  of  water  had  become  exhausted. 
In  a  number  of  towns,  where  they  were  allowed 
to    stop    for    short    rests,    they    made    attempts    to 


The  "slum  line  was  one  line  that  the  men  did  not  grumble  about  making, 
though  it  was  decidedly  inconvenient  a.t  times  to  make  it  when  the  rain  was 
pouring  down  heavily  and  the  food  hatd'  to  be  ea.ten  without  shelter. 


replenish  their  supply  of  water  but  in  every 
instance  they  were  strictly  forbidden  from  doing  so, 
since  their  officers  were  uncertain  as  to  the  purity  of 
the  available  water.  Once  during  the  afternoon  they 
were  served  their  choice  of  either  coffee  or  a  combina- 
tion fruit  juice,  but  these  drinks  only  increased  their 
thirst  and  by  the  time  a  camping  place  for  the  night 
was  reached  many  of  them  were  in  agony  for  want 


Redon  129 

of  water.  The  officers  made  a  strong  effort  to  see 
that  men  did  not  drop  out  of  ranks  during  the  march, 
but  their  efforts  were  entirely  unsuccessful,  and  sol- 
diers commenced  falling  out  by  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon.  By  evening  large  numbers  were  left 
behind.  The  effect  on  Brigade  Headquarters  De- 
tachment, which  commenced  the  march  with  thirty- 
five  men  and  arrived  at  the  camp  with  nine  men,  is  a 
good  illustration  of  the  effect  of  the  march  on  the 
entire  Brigade. 

The  camping  place  chosen  for  the  night  lay  be- 
tween two  hills  and  just  off  of  the  highway.  The 
ground  had  apparently  been  used  as  a  pasture  during 
the  last  twenty  years,  for  though  thickly  sodded  with 
grass,  its  surface  was  unusually  rough  and  bumpy. 
But  the  ground  on  which  they  pitched  tents  did  not 
concern  the  tired  men  for  they  were  interested  only  in 
getting  quickly  to  bed.  Within  a  short  time  after  the 
first  troops  had  become  settled,  the  stragglers  came 
in  and  by  dusk  the  forces  were  completely  reunited. 
The  men  were  too  tired  to  bother  much  about  supper 
and  turned  in  for  the  night  as  rapidly  as  they  could 
erect  shelter  tents.  Most  of  them  slept  well  and  arose 
in  the  morning  refreshed  and  ready  for  the  day's 
march  to  Coetquidan. 

The  remaining  part  of  the  march  varied  only 
slightly  from  that  of  the  previous  day,  with  the  ex- 
ception that  very  few  men  fell  out  of  ranks,  though  ^ 
most  of  them  declared  upon  arriving  in  Coetquidan 
that  another  kilometer  would  have  been  just  that 
much  more  than  they  could  have  stood.  The  last  four 
miles  lay  over  a  road  which  wound  up  hill,  and  the 
last  mile  was  so  difficult  that  it  took  almost  super- 
human will  power  to  accomplish  it. 


130  Trail  of  the  61st 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  of  all  their  experiences  in 
France  the  troops  of  the  61st  Brigade  today  retain  a 
more  vivid  memory  of  the  march  from  Redon  to 
Coetquidan  than  of  any  other. 

The  Ammunition  Train  suffered  from  the  hike, 
for  it  marched  from  Fegreac  to  Redon,  a  distance  of" 
about  ten  kilometers,  before  the  main  march  started, 
and  instead  of  stopping  in  Coetquidan  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  continued  the  march  to  Maxent  and  Louthel, 
both  towns  about  fifteen  kilometers  beyond  Coetquidan, 
The  men  of  the  Train  marched  twenty-five  kilometers 
farther  than  other  troops  of  the  Brigade,  which  made 
a  total  hike  for  them  of  approximately  fifty-five  or 
sixty  kilometers.  Lieutenant  Col.  Stevenson  in  speak- 
ing of  this  hike  remarked  that  during  all  of  his  mili- 
tary experiences  he  had  never  seen  as  difiicult  a  march 
imposed  on  any  troops,  trained  or  untrained. 


VII. 

CAMP  de  COETQUIDAN 

Camp  de  Coetquidan,  which  is  situated  approxi- 
mately ninety  kilometers  north  of  St.  Nazaire  and 
forty-two  kilometers  south  of  Rennes,  has  been  used 
as  an  artillery  training  camp  for  several  centuries. 
Napoleon  Bonaparte  quartered  troops  in  this  camp 
and  remains  of  his  barracks  can  yet  be  seen.  One 
old  wall  of  particular  interest  is  reported  to  have  been 
used  by  N'apoleon's  firing  squads  in  their  executions, 
and  the  wooden  pillars  of  this  wall  are  studded  with 
bullets,  though  hundreds  of  the  bullets  have  been 
removed  as  souvenirs  by  both  French  and  American 
soldiers. 

To  the  north  and  west  of  the  camp  are  a  number 
of  abandoned  French  villages,  reported  to  have  been 
deserted  years  ago  on  account  of  a  scourge  of  black 
plague.  These  towns  furnish  excellent  targets  for 
artillery  guns  and  were  so  used  by  the  61st  Brigade 
during  its  training  period  at  Coetquidan. 

The  camp  proper  contained  a  number  of  concrete 
buildings  which  had  been  constructed  by  the  Ameri- 
cans after  the  war  began  for  the  accommodation  of 
their  organization  headquarters.  The  billets  for  sol- 
diers were  constructed  of  wood,  and  were  slight  frame 
buildings  without  floors.  The  lack  of  floors  seriously 
aff'ected  the  soldiers  during  the  winter  months  and  was 
responsible  for  many  of  them  taking  bad  colds.  A  hos- 
pital of  large,  roomy,  two-story,  concrete  buildings,  pro- 

(131) 


132 


Trail  of  the  61st 


vided  adequate  facilities  for  taking  care  of  the  sick  in 
camp. 

Upon  arriving  from  Redon  the  soldiers  were  im- 
mediately marched  to  their  billets  and  before  night 
were  comfortably  established  in  permanent  quarters. 
Adjacent  to  the  billets  and  erected  at  regular  intervals 
were  wash  houses  where  an  abundant  supply  of  water 
was   available   for    washing   and    drinking   purposes. 


A  group  of  111th  Ammunition  Trainmen  eating  mess  in  Camp  de  Coetquidan. 

Here  the  men  quickly  removed  the  accumulated  dirt 
and  grime,  and  after  resting  a  short  time  began  to 
investigate  their  new  surroundings,  which  they  found 
to  be  very  pleasant  and  satisfactory.  That  evening 
a  ''run"  was  made  on  the  shower  baths  and  the  men 
emerged  from  the  bath  rooms  feeling  better  pleased 
with  their  caimp  than  at  any  time  since  they  had  left 
the  United  States. 

Camp  de  Coetquidan  was  divided  into  streets 
quite  similar  in  appearance  and  general  construction 
to  those  in  American  camps,  but  the  billets  were  alto- 


Camp  de  Coetqiddan  133 

ffether  different  from  any  in  which  they  had  been 
housed  while  in  America.  Three  main  thorough- 
fares were  cut  at  right  angles  by  company  streets, 
which  were  lined  on  both  sides  w^ith  wooden  barracks. 
At  various  points,  apparently  selected  at  random, 
large  concrete  buildings  had  been  erected.  These  build- 
ings were  chosen  as  headquarters  for  the  regiments 
and  the  Ammunition  Train,  and  two  similar  buildings 
were  used  for  Brigade  and  Camp  Headquarters.  The 
company  streets  were  coated  with  crushed  rock  which 
during  the  early  fall  proved  able  to  withstand  the 
light  rains  that  fell,  but  before  spring  the  effect  of 
the  long  months  of  winter  rains  left  the  streets  in  a 
perfect  loblolly  of  mud,  and  some  were  in  such  bad 
condition  that  they  were  practically  impassable. 

The  billets  were  anything  but  comfortable,  since 
practically  all  were  without  floors,  good  windows,  or 
rain-proof  roofs.  The  incessant  rainfall  kept  every- 
thing damp  and  the  dirt  floors  were  in  a  constantly 
softened  condition,  and  as  there  was  no  sunshine  to  dry 
them  they  remained  that  way.  This  condition  was  not 
relieved  during  the  stay  of  the  Brigade  in  the  camp 
though  large  numbers  of  soldiers  were  assigned  to  each 
building,  which  was  made  to  accommodate  as  many 
cots  as  could  be  placed  in  it.  Most  of  the  cots  were  so 
close  together  that  the  men  had  very  little  room  in 
which  to  undress  or  change  clothes. 

This  congested  condition  produced  the  ''P'lu." 
and  so  many  men  became  sick  from  this  disease  that 
the  medical  authorities  issued  orders  that  all  men 
should  separate  themselves  from  their  comrades  b}^ 
hanging  blankets  between  cots  to  form  more  or  less 
secluded  chambers  in  which  to  sleep  and  which  would 
prohibit  the  passage  of  germs  from  one  sleeper  to  an- 
other.   It  was  a  unique  sight  to  pass  down  the  central 


134 


Trail  of  the  61st 


aisle  of  a  billet  at  night  and  see  the  many  blanket 
"stalls"  filled  with  cots  of  sleeping  men  over  which 
fresh  air  was  allowed  to  pass  freely  through  open 
windows  and  doors.  But  the  stalls  and  the  free  air 
"turned  the  trick"  and  the  epidemic  was  soon  driven 
away. 

When  the  61st  Brigade  first  arrived  at  Coetqui- 
dan,  there  seemed  to  be  an  abundance  of  water  for  all 


Headquarters  of  the  111th  Ammunition  Train  at  Camp  de  Coetquidan. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Stevenson  and  his  staif  are  shown  in  the  foreground.  The  111th 
Ammunition  Train  occupied  the  upper  part  of  the  camp  close  to  the  drill 
grounds   and   athletic   field. 


uses  and  the  men  took  frequent  baths  and  kept  their 
clothes  carefully  washed.  But  after  a  short  time  the 
water  supply  diminished  and  water  conditions  became 
so  bad  that  orders  were  issued  prohibiting  the  taking 
of  baths  or  the  using  of  washrooms,  except  at  speci- 
fied hours.  Yet  even  under  these  conditions  the  fa- 
cilities furnished  by  the  wash  rooms  were  excellent, 
as  each  wash  house  contained  a  long,  concrete  basin 


Camp  de  Coetquidan  135 

which  extended  the  entire  length  of  the  room,  and  in 
the  center  of  which  was  a  concrete  frame  reaching  to 
a  height  of  three  or  four  feet.  Spigots  were  attached  to 
thiri  frame  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  water  at 
about  the  height  of  a  man's  shoulders,  and  these 
spigots  were  so  plentiful  that  as  many  men  as  could 
stand  side  by  side  in  the  buildings  had  an  abundance  of 
water  for  their  individual  uses. 

Long,  narrow,  concrete  troughs,  reaching  to 
about  the  height  of  a  man's  waist,  surrounded  by  con- 
crete bases  for  standing  room,  and  covered  by  roofs, 
were  provided  for  the  washing  of  clothes.  Water  in 
abundance  was  available  in  these  troughs  at  all 
hours  of  the  day  and  regardless  of  the  conditions  of 
the  weather,  men  could  take  their  clothes  there  and 
wash  them  without  suffering  any  inconvenience.  The 
soldiers  used  these  troughs  regularly,  and  it  became 
a  common  sight  to  see  them  with  their  sleeves  rolled  up, 
and  large  bundles  of  clothes  before  them,  industriously 
engaged  in  scrubbing.  The  business  of  washing  be- 
came grave  before  the  winter  was  over,  however,  for 
it  was  no  easy  task  to  wash  a  lot  of  clothes  in  cold 
water,  with  bitter  winds  blowing  so  hard  against  you 
while  you  were  doing  it  that  both  fingers  and  toes  be- 
came numb  with  the  cold.  When  the  water  supply 
became  too  low  to  allow  use  of  the  washing  troughs 
the  men  were  forced  to  use  buckets,  pans  and  other 
available  receptacles  in  washing  their  clothes,  though 
during  the  cold  weather  this  work  became  so  difficult 
that  most  of  them  ''passed  it  up,"  preferring  to  remain 
dirty  instead  of  attempting  to  wash  under  such  try- 
ing conditions. 

One  reason  why  this  work  became  so  difficult  was 
that  there  was  a  lack  of  heating  facilities  in  camp ; 
only  one  or  two  stoves, — and  they  were  little  ones — 


136 


Trail  of  the  61st 


were  supplied  to  each  billet,  and  even  after  they  were 
secured  fuel  could  not  be  furnished  to  use  in  them. 
During  the  last  month  or  two  in  camp  it  became  al- 
most impossible  to  secure  any  fuel  and  what  little  the 
men  did  get  was  of  such  poor  quality  that  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  build  fires  with  it.  The  chief 
fuel  used  was  French  coal,  an  extremely  poor  substi- 
tute for  the  American  coal  which  the  men  had  been 


Billets  of  the  131st  F.  A.  This  snapshot  was  taken  on  a  day  when  the  rain 
had  slackened,  for  a  considera.ble  amount  of  washing  is  shown  on  the  buildings, 
where  it  had  been  put  out  to  dry. 


accustomed  to  using  in  the  camps  at  home.  This  bi- 
tuminous French  substance  somewhat  resembled 
American  coal,  but  the  resemblance  was  only  in  ap- 
pearance, for  its  heating  qualities  could  not  be  likened 
in  any  sense  to  our  good,  honest  coal.  The  men  had 
to  coax  the  fires  to  burn  even  slightly  when  using 
French  coal,  and  at  no  time  were  they  able  to  make 
really  hot  fires  with   it.     The  cooks  quickly  learned 


Camp  de  Coetquidan  137 

that  they  couldn't  prepare  meals  with  this  fuel,  so 
they  secured  wood  for  their  stoves  and  were  there- 
fore able  to  prepare  their  meals  with  good  fires. 

Camp  de  Coetquidan  was  well  supplied  with  Y. 
M.  C.  A.  huts  and  other  war  organization  buildings. 
There  were  three  Y.  M.  C.  A.  buildings  for  enlisted 
men  and  one  for  officers,  several  Red  Cross  buildings, 
and  a  K.  C.  hut  or  two.  The  men  universally  patron- 
ized the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  buildings  where  they  spent  their 
evenings  and  other  spare  moments  in  reading  books, 
writing  letters  home  and  in  playing  games.  The  "Y" 
came  to  be  the  congregating  place  for  the  men  and  if 
one  soldier  wanted  to  see  another,  he  usually  arranged 
to  do  so  during  some  evening  at  the  ''Y."  Moreover, 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  huts  were  especially  popular  because 
men  were  allowed  to  purchase  foodstuffs  there 

Much  criticism  has  been  offered  against  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  in  France,  especially  against  the  manner  in  which 
it  sold  products,  but  the  history  of  its  activities  in  Coet- 
quidan does  not  furnish  ground  for  serious  criticism. 
It  is  true  the  men  had  to  pay  good  prices  for  the  food 
they  bought  at  the  huts  and  they  were  often  unable  to 
understand  why  such  prices  were  being  charged,  but 
aside  from  a  few  disgruntled  individuals  the  general 
work  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  was  satisfactory  and  pleas- 
ing to  the  men  of  the  61st  Brigade. 

The  building  that  competed  more  nearly  than  any 
other  with  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  huts  was  the  commissary, 
where  soldiers  were  allowed  to  purchase  candy,  cigar- 
ettes, cakes,  etc.  Since  the  regular  food  served  to  them 
was  not  seasoned  as  highly  with  sugar  as  they  had 
been  accustomed  to  receiving  in  the  United  States,  they 
craved  large  amounts  of  candy  and  appeared  daily  at 
the  Commissary  and  formed  long  lines  to  take  their 


138 


Trail  of  the  61st 


turn  at  the  counters.  But  a  box  of  candy  didn't  last 
very  long  when  a  soldier  got  it,  for  he  was  usually  so 
hungry  for  sweets  that  he  managed  to  make  away  with 
it  in  a  day  or  two — or  in  an  evening,  for  that  matter. 
Of  course,  a  large  amount  of  this  candy  was  distrib- 
uted among  friends,  so  that  by  the  time  he  had  shared 
with  them  he  had  very  little  left. 


A  French  "seventy-five"  in  repose.  The  61st  drilled  with  the  "seventy-five" 
while  in  France  and  became  so  proficient  with  it  that  the  French  instructors 
who  were  assigned  to  the  brigade  said  the  men  were  better  artillerymen  with 
the  75  than  Frenchmen  were.  It  is  a  beautiful  piece  and  can  shoot  with  the 
best  guns  in  the  world. 

During  the  first  few  days  spent  in  Coetquidan, 
the  technical  rudiments  of  French  artillery  firing 
were  taught  to  the  men  through  various  schools  which 
vrere  established  for  instruction  in  Orientation,  Liai- 
son, Materiel  and  Signalling.  French  methods  of  ar- 
tillery fire  were  so  different  from  American  methods 
that   the   men   soon   realized   they   must   apply  them- 


Camp  de  Coetquidan  139 

selves   earnestly   if  they   were  to  master   their   new 
work. 

Actual  firing  on  the  range  was  not  begun  until 
the  latter  part  of  September,  when  the  troops  were 
given  an  opportunity  to  demonstrate  the  knowledge 
they  had  acquired.  The  first  results  of  their  fire  were 
extremely  unsatisfactory  but  within  a  short  time  they 
learned  to  prepare  proper  firing  data  and  were  able 
to  make  a  very  creditable  showing. 

For  four  weeks  all  of  the  artillery  units  were 
kept  constantly  on  the  range  at  firing  practice  and 
toward  the  close  of  October  they  had  so  far  mastered 
their  work  as  to  elicit  enthusiastic  praise  from  their 
French  instructors.  These  Americans  had  come  to 
France  without  any  knowledge  of  French  guns  or 
French  artillery  but  in  this  short  length  of  time  they 
had  been  able  to  produce  firing  results  that  seemed 
nothing  short  of  marvelous  to  their  admiring  French 
instructors.  They  had  done  really  fine  work  and  de- 
served the  praise  they  received. 

Training  on  the  range  was  closed  by  a  brigade  prob- 
lem, fired  on  the  night  of  October  22,  when  all  of  the 
units  of  the  brigade  occupied  the  range.  The  problem 
as  nearly  resembled  actual  warfare  as  was  possible  to 
develop  and  all  types  of  firing  which  the  men  had 
learned  to  execute  during  their  training  period,  were 
used.  Fire  for  effect,  fire  for  demolition,  and  barrage 
fire  were  given  their  place  in  the  night's  activities.  To 
the  men  who  participated,  the  experiences  of  the  night 
were  long  to  be  remembered  as  being  the  nearest  ap- 
proximation to  actual  warfare  on  the  front  that  they 
saw  while  in  the  service. 

After  the  problem  each  regiment  was  inspected 
and  approved  by  General  Stephens.     He  reported  that 


140 


Trail  of  the  61st 


the  Brigade  was  in  condition  for  service  at  the  Front 
and  both  men  and  officers  expected  to  be  quickly  or- 
dered to  some  active  sector  at  the  front.  But  all  of 
these  hopes  and  plans  remained  unrealized,  as  the 
signing  of  the  Armistice  on  November  11th  removed 
the  need  for  fighting  troops. 


,  "fi^g^y 


Swabbing  the  piece  after  several  shots.  The  75,  dependable  if  kept  clean 
but  highly  dangerous  if  allowed  to  become  very  dirty,  is  supposed  to  be  cleaned 
after  every  sixth  shot. 

During  the  time  the  artillery  units  were  being 
trained  on  the  range,  the  111th  Ammunition  Train  and 
111th  Trench  Mortar  Battery  had  been  busily  engaged 
in  training  their  men  for  battle.  A  strenuous  schedule 
of  work  had  been  outlined  by  the  commanders  of  both 
organizations  and  the  men  were  kept  busily  engaged  in 
meeting  these  schedules.  A  great  amount  of  close 
order  and  extended  drill  was  given  and  the  men  were 
hardened  by  long  hikes.  Gas  drill  and  signalling 
were  also  emphasized. 


Camp  de  Coetquidan  141 

Shortly  after  the  61st  arrived  at  Coetquidan  the 
weather,  which  had  been  beautiful  up  to  this  time, 
changed  and  from  then  until  the  Brigade  returned  to 
America  it  was  bothered  by  constant  rains.  Very 
few  days  passed  without  rain  and  when  such  days  did 
come  the  men  marveled,  wondering  how  in  the  wor.'d 
they  could  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to  have  escaped 
the  usual  daily  deluge.  At  first  the  rain  annoyed  the 
men  more  than  it  did  later,  but  wet  clothing  remained 
a  matter  of  much  concern  throughout  the  time  spent  in 
Coetquidan.  The  atmosphere  was  so  damp  that  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  dry  clothes  and  the  only  effective 
plan  to  meet  the  conditions  was  that  adopted  by  a  num- 
ber of  soldiers  who  built  hot  fires  in  their  billets  and  sat 
by  the  stoves  until  the  clothes  were  dried.  But  the  long- 
er the  soldiers  remained  in  France  the  less  thought 
they  gave  to  the  weather;  they  soon  learned  that  even 
though  they  did  frequently  become  wet  there  was 
little  damage  to  be  feared  from  it.  Colds  and  hoarse- 
ness became  prevalent,  but  they  grew  accustomed  to 
these  little  annoyances  and  thought  nothing  of  them ; 
they  executed  their  business  whether  it  was  done  in 
rain  or  sunshine  and  apparently  were  as  well  satisfied 
in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other. 

Practically  the  only  source  of  amusement  in  Coet- 
quidan was  that  afforded  by  the  **drag",  as  it  was 
called.  The  ''drag"  was  a  series  of  stores  and  selling 
booths  erected  along  the  road  leading  to  the  main  en- 
trance of  the  camp.  Almost  all  kinds  of  small  articles 
could  be  purchased  in  these  stores  and  the  men  fre- 
quented them  freely  to  buy  food  and  drinks.  Because 
of  the  great  number  of  potatoes  served  to  the  soldiers 
at  several  places  along  the  road,  the  whole  place  was 
finally  dubbed,  'Totato  Alley." 


142  Trail  of  the  61st 

The  men  flocked  to  Potato  Alley  in  such  num- 
bers that  during  the  evenings  it  resembled  the  busy 
thoroughfare  of  some  thriving  American  city.  The 
buildings  in  which  food  was  sold  were  always 
filled  with  a  large  crowd  of  men,  so  tightly  packed  and 
jammed  that  the  purchase  of  food  became  a  process 
of  great  exertion  and  difficult  of  success.  Grapes,  nuts, 
jellies  and  similar  delicacies  were  bought  from  the 
French  vendors  so  rapidly  that  these  people  were  un- 
able to  fill  the  orders  as  fast  as  they  were  given, 
eight  or  ten  soldiers  often  trying  to  get  the  same 
article  as  it  was  sold. 

The  French  people  are  great  merchants,  and  they 
quickly  showed  their  spirit  of  commercialism  by 
rapidly  changing  prices  in  'Totato  Alley"  when  the 
Americans  arrived.  When  U.  S.  troops  first  reached 
Coetquidan  they  were  lavish  with  their  money,  almost 
universally  refusing  to  take  change  from  the  French 
saleswomen  when  making  purchases  of  less  than  half 
a  franc.  For  instance,  a  soldier  upon  being  tendered 
ten  or  fifteen  centimes  as  change  on  a  half  franc 
transaction  would  in  the  usual  American  fashion  say, 
*0h,  just  keep  the  change."  This  extravagant  habit 
3oon  convinced  the  shrewd  French  women  that  they 
were  selling  their  commodities  too  cheaply  to  the 
soldiers  and  they  immediately  raised  the  prices  so  no 
change  was  required  in  the  sale  of  most  articles.  They 
raided  some  prices  as  much  as  thirty-five  or  forty 
centimes  per  article,  if  they  were  of  slight  value,  and 
as  much  as  five  francs  or  multiples  thereof,  if  the 
articles  were  expensive. 

But  the  freedom  of  "Potato  Alley"  was  taken 
from  the  soldiers  a  few  weeks  after  their  arrival  in 
camp,  for  so  much  bickering  and  quarreling  over 
prices  and  so  many  free-for-all  fights  took  place  be- 


Camp  de  Coetquidan 


143 


An  airplane  picture  of  Camp  de  Coetquidan,  France.  The  large  buiMing 
just  beyond  the  fourth  row  on  tlie  left  is  where  Brigade  Headquarters  was  estab- 
lished. The  large  buildings,  six  in  number  on  the  right,  were  the  hospital 
quarters,  or  rather,  three  were  used  as  hospital  buildings  and  three  as  bar- 
racks by  the  132d  Regiment. 


144 


Trail  of  the  61st 


tween  them  and  the  French  people  that  the  authori- 
ties deemed  it  prudent  to  refuse  the  soldiers  admit- 
tance to  the  place.  Moreover,  as  camp  life  in  Coet- 
quidan  became  more  monotonous  and  the  soldiers  tired 
of  the  daily  grind  of  training,  they  indulged  more 
freely  in  stronger  wines  and  liquors  that  they  pur- 
chased on  the  "drag,"  and  the  officers  concluded  that 
the  general  efficiency  and  safety  of  the  brigade  would 


A  rest  period  on  one  of  the  long  bikes  that  were  made  near  Coetquidan. 
After  the  signing  of  the  Armistice  it  became  customary  for  all  units  of  the  brigade 
to  take  as  many  hikes  as  possible  in  order  to  keep  the  men  entertained. 

be  better  preserved  by  keeping  the  men  away  from  the 
drinking  places.  An  order  was  therefore  issued  pro- 
hibiting all  men  of  the  61st  Brigade  from  spending  any 
time  on  the  "drag"  unless  they  had  business  there 
and  could  show  proper  authority  for  being  "out  of 
bounds." 

After  this,  the  soldiers  were  cooped  up  in  their 
billets,  and  amused  themselves  only  by  sports  of  their 


Camp  de  Coetquidan  145 

own  making.     The  most  popular  pastime  was  gam- 
bling, and  even  though  orders  were  issued  prohibiting 
crap  shooting  and  poker  playing,  lovers  of  these  games 
paid    little    attention    to    the    orders.      Thousands    of 
dollars  were  transferred  from  player  to  player,   ac- 
cording to  the  fortune  or  skill  of  the  men  engaged  in 
the  games,  and  some  men,  who  made  gambling  their 
chief  business  while  in  the  army,   reaped  wonderful 
harvests  from  their  less  skillful  comrades,  one  of  these 
''sharks"  being  known  to  have  sent  home  several  thou- 
sand dollars  he  had  won  while  in  the  army. 

On  the  13th  of  September  a  group  of  fifteen  en- 
•  listed  men  were  sent  to  the  Saumur  Artillery  School, 
Saumur,  France,  to  study  for  commissions.  And  on 
the  first  of  October  another  group  was  sent  to  Sau- 
mur for  the  same  purpose.  Each  month  thereafter, 
until  the  armistice  was  signed,  fifteen  men  were  sent 
to  school,  until  a  total  of  sixty-five  or  seventy  men  were 
sent  from  the  brigade.  Work  at  Saumur  was  excep- 
tionally fine.  The  school  had  been  used  for  military 
training  since  1735 ;  it  had  been  a  cavalry  school 
until  the  entrance  of  America  into  the  war  when  it 
was  converted  into  an  Artillery  School  and  placed  at 
the  disposal  of  American  troops  as  a  school  for  train- 
ing artillery  officers.  Before  the  first  group  of  men 
from  the  61st  had  finished  their  three  months'  course 
in  Saumur  the  armistice  was  signed  and,  though  prac- 
tically all  of  them  received  diplomas  of  graduation 
from  the  institution,  none  was  commissioned.  They 
returned  to  Coetquidan,  where  they  rejoined  their 
various  organizations  at  the  same  rank  they  held  at 
the  time  they  were  sent  to  Saumur,  and  became  a 
part  of  the  large  class  of  disappointed  officer  candi- 
dates, known  throughout  the  A.  E.  F.  as  3rd  lieuten- 
ants, or  Dove  Tails. 


146 


Trail  of  the  61st 


The  advanced  school  detachment  which  left  Camp 
Bowie  July  1st,  arriving  in  France  about  two  weeks 
before  the  remainder  of  the  brigade,  was  met  at  Coet- 
quidan  by  the  brigade  on  September  6th,  and  the 
members  of  the  detachment  returned  to  their  old  or- 
ganizations. These  men  were  used  for  special  work 
in  the  branches  of  service  for  which  they  had  been 


The  airplane  which  was  demolished  in  Coetquidan  durhig  the  foot  ball  game 
between  two  regiments,  when  the  pilot  attempted  to  fly  too  close  to  the  ground 
while  watching  the  game  and  lost  c  iiircl  rf  a  •  acnine  crashing  into  a  truck 
filled  with  soldiers.  The  plane  was  utterly  ruined  and  one  soldier  was  slightly 
hurt  but  no  other  damage  resulted  from  the  accident. 

trained  and  proved  of  much  assistance  in  training  the 
Brigade  for  the  front. 

After  the  signing  of  the  armistice  the  bottom  fell 
out  of  things  as  far  as  the  soldiers  were  concerned 
and  all  interest  in  military  work  was  lost.  The  men 
knew  that  they  would  never  be  called  upon  to  do  any 
fighting  and  they  could  not  see  why  they  should  be 
forced  to  continue  training'.  What  work  they  were 
compelled  to  do  was  done  by  them  in  a  half-hearted, 


Camp  de  Coetquidan  147 

loose  manner,  for  no  one  attempted  to  put  much  ef- 
fort into  his  work. 

About  this  time  the  troops  began  playing  football 
and  it  rapidly  became  one  of  the  most  popular  sports 
in  camp.  Practically  all  of  the  units  produced  teams 
which  practiced  diligently,  and  these  teams  met  on 
the  gridiron  in  several  pitched  battles  to  decide  the 
championship  of  the  Brigade.  The  rooters  for  each 
team  supported  their  players  in  an  enthusiastic  man- 
ner, and  flooded  the  grounds,  even  interfering  with 
the  players,  in  attempts  to  get  closer  to  their  favorites 
while  they  were  engaged  in  the  games.  The  champion- 
ship was  decided  by  an  elimination  game  between  the 
Ammunition  Train  and  the  131st  Regiment,  the  latter 
winning  a  hard-fought  victory. 

Soldiers  of  the  brigade  were  not  the  only  in- 
terested spectators  of  the  football  games,  for  aviators 
from  the  flying  field  near  camp,  flew  over  the  football 
field  on  several  occasions,  keeping  their  machines  hov- 
ering at  a  safe  height  above  the  crowd,  but  low 
enough  to  allow  the  aviators  to  watch  the  games. 
During  one  game  an  aviator  apparently  became  so 
interested  in  the  contest  that  he  did  not  direct  his 
machine  as  carefully  as  he  should  have  done,  and  in 
attempting  to  dip  close  to  the  ground,  lost  control  of 
his  plane  and  collied  with  a  truck  in  which  were 
standing  a  large  number  of  soldiers,  who  were  thrown 
about  and  bruised  more  or  less  severely  by  the  col- 
lision. 

Had  the  men  in  the  truck  not  used  judgment  and 
dropped  flat  on  the  bottom  of  the  truck  as  the  plane 
struck  the  top  of  the  frame  and  slid  along  it,  they 
would  have  been  crushed  beneath  the  wreck.  As  it 
was,  however,  only  a  few  were  hurt  and  none  of  them 


148 


Trail  of  the  61st 


seriously,  except  one  man  from  Brigade  Headquarters 
who  was  knocked  unconscious  for  some  time.  The 
plane  was  utterly  demolished,  though  the  truck  was 
practically  undamaged.  Of  the  two  aviators  in  the 
plane,  one  was  injured  to  such  an  extent  that  he  was 
conveyed  to  a  hospital  but  the  other  was  entirely  un- 
scathed and  was  immediately  placed  in  another  plane 


A  Battery  of  132d  men  at  drill  inspection  on  the  rocky  drill  jrrounds  near 
Coetquidaji.  Before  leaving  for  America  the  soldiers  of  the  61st  became 
thoroughly  skilled  in  drill  and  were  said  by  inspectors  to  comprise  one  of  the 
finest  drilled  organizations  in  the  A.  E.  F. 

which  left  the  field  before  many  of  the  soldiers  knew 
what  had  happened. 

After  the  accident,  the  soldiers  eagerly  pressed 
about  the  demolished  plane  to  secure  pieces  of  it  as 
souvenirs,  and  that  evening  they  were  to  be  seen  walk- 
ing about  their  billets  proudly  displaying  the  souve- 
nirs they  had  been  so  fortunate  as  to  have  secured. 
It  is  an  amusing  fact  that  not  one  in  a  hundred  of 
these  soldiers  had  a  vestige  of  the  plane  in  their  pos- 


Camp  de  Coetquidan  149 

session  by  the  time  they  had  arrived  in  America. 
This  fate  was  common  to  all  souvenirs,  for  that  mat- 
ter; for  regardless  of  how  carefully  they  had  been 
procured  from  time  to  time,  the  limited  facilities  for 
carrying  such  articles  restricted  the  men  in  their 
efforts  to  get  them  home. 

The  French  roads,  hard  surfaced  and  smoothly 
rinished,  appealed  to  motorcycle  riders  and  automobile 
drivers,  who  took  delight  in  racing  their  machines 
over  them.  Many  a  race  between  motorcycles  took 
place  on  these  roads  and  such  races  often  resulted  in 
hairbreadth  escapes  from  dangerous  situations  which 
developed  unexpectedly  because  of  the  unfamiliarity 
of  the  riders  with  the  roads.  It  was  no  unusual  sound 
to  hear  the  deep,  vibrant  hum  of  pulsing  motors  as 
two  or  three  daredevil  soldiers  on  motorcycles,  raced 
madly  down  French  roads,  the  exhilaration  of  the 
race  entirely  overcoming  the  sanity  of  the  riders,  who 
were  intent  upon  winning  their  contests  regardless 
of  the  dangers  involved  in  such  a  task. 

In  one  such  race,  between  two  men  from  Brigade 
headquarters,  the  contest  lay  over  a  straight  stretch 
of  road  which  led  down  a  slightly  sloping  hill  to  a 
stretch  of  level  road  below.  The  two  racers  thought 
from  the  appearance  of  the  road  that  they  had  an 
ideal  race  track  before  them  and  therefore  threw  open 
the  throttles  of  their  engines  to  get  a  maximum  speed. 
The  machines  literally  flew  over  the  fine  road,  gaining 
such  momentum  by  the  time  they  had  reached  th^ 
level  stretch  that  they  were  making  a  speed  of  sixty 
or  seventy  miles  an  hour.  Without  realizing  how 
rapidly  they  were  traveling  or  how  far  they  had  come, 
the  men  continued  the  race  on  and  on  until  they  had 
passed  the  level  ground  and  had  entered  a  more  un- 
even part  of  the  road,  which,  instead  of  continuing 


150 


Trail  of  the  61st 


straight  forward,  began  to  show  turns  and  roughness 
ahead.  They  did  not  heed  this  warning,  but,  lost  in 
the  pleasure  of  the  race,  proceeded  onward  until  the 
leading  man  was  confronted  with  a  sharp  turn  in  the 
road,  overlooking  a  precipice  with  a  sheer  drop  of 
about  thirty  or  forty  feet.  He  was  traveling  at  such 
a  rate  of  speed,  however,  that  he  could  not  turn  his 


The  grave  of  Brigadier  General  John  E.  Stephens  in  the  American  ceme- 
tery near  Coetnuidan.  The  grave  lies  nea-  nthp'-s  oocuiiieci  by  American 
soldiers,  some  of  whom  were  /ormer  members  of  the  61st  F.  A. 

machine  promptly  enough  and  was  precipitated  over 
the  cliff,  and  his  motorcycle  struck  a  tree  a  few  feet 
from  the  ground  below.  He  was  thrown  violently 
against  the  tree  and  the  machine  crumpled  over  him, 
pinioning  him  to  the  ground,  and  leaving  him  in  an 
unconscious  state. 

The  second  driver  realized  that  something  was 
wrong,  when  he  saw  his  friend  drop  from  sight,  and 
he  was  warned  to  meet  the  sharp  turn  in  the  road, 
which  he  safely  passed.     He  did  not  get  his  machine 


Camp  de  Coetquidan  151 

stopped,  however,  until  he  had  traveled  a  considerable 
distance  beyond  the  point  of  accident,  and  when  he 
returned  to  see  what  had  happened  to  his  comrade  he 
was  unable  to  descend  at  that  point  and  was  forced 
to  continue  on  up  the  road  to  a  point  where  he  could 
descend  to  the  valley.  He  quickly  effected  this  de- 
scent, and  hastened  to  his  fallen  friend^  whom  he 
found  pinioned  in  such  a  manner  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  remove  him  without  help.  Confronted  with  this 
dilemma,  he  quickly  returned  to  his  motorcycle  and 
sped  away  to  secure  help  from  nearby  soldiers  who, 
as  soon  as  they  heard  of  the  accident,  hurried  to  the 
assistance  of  the  injured  man.  They  had  some  diffi- 
culty in  releasing  him  from  the  motorcycle,  and  when 
they  did  get  him  free  they  found  that  he  had  been 
severely  burned  by  the  motor,  which  had  rested  on  his 
back  and  thigh  so  long  that  his  flesh  had  been  burned 
to  the  bone  and  the  bone  itself  badly  damaged.  They 
also  learned  that  he  had  sustained  other  serious  in- 
juries from  his  fall,  as  both  his  collar  bone  and  his 
shoulder  were  broken  by  the  impact  of  his  body  with 
the  tree. 

But  motorcycle  accidents  were  rare  and  they 
afforded  the  men  only  occasional  excitement.  It  took 
Thanksgiving  Day  to  really  arouse  the  camp.  This 
day  saw  Coetquidan  prepared  for  the  usual  American 
custom;  every  organization  served  a  **feed,"  the  like 
of  which  the  soldiers  of  the  61st  had  not  seen 
for  months  and  months.  A  few  days  previous  to 
Thanksgiving,  mess  sergeants  scoured  the  surround- 
ing country  for  food,  and  turkeys,  chickens,  pigs  and 
other  live  animals  were  brought  to  camp  in  consider- 
able numbers.  Likewise,  motorcycle  and  trucks  were 
sent  out  in  the  country  for  food  and  they  came  back 
loaded  with  fruits  and  vegetables. 


152 


Trail  of  the  61st 


The  men  entered  into  the  spirit  of  Thanksgiving 
with  more  zest  than  ever  before,  for  they  were  so  far 
away  from  home  and  had  been  so  restricted  in  the 
amount  and  grade  of  food  they  had  received  in  France 
that  they  opened  their  pocketbooks  and  gave  freely  of 
their  francs  and  centimes  for  the  purchase  of  "eats." 
Moreover,  the  cooks  were  impressed  with  the  import- 


German  prisoners  who  were  used  at  Coetquidan  chiefly  for   road   building 
and  other  rough  work  about  the  camp. 

ance  of  their  positions  on  this  occasion  and  responded 
magnificently  to  the  requests  of  their  comrades  that 
they  put  forth  every  effort  in  the  preparation  of  good 
dishes  of  food.  They  baked  pies  and  cakes  galore; 
they  worked  until  late  at  night  in  cleaning  fowls  and 
in  getting  their  meats  properly  prepared  for  the  big 
dinner;  and  they  tried  in  every  conceivable  way  to 
make  a  success  of  Thanksgiving  Day. 

When  the  men  were  seated  at  the  long  tables,  on 
which  in  many  instances  some  kind  of  dishes,  either 


Camp  de  Coetquidan  153 

* 

paper  or  granite,  had  been  set,  and  saw  the  many 
steaming  plates  of  splendidly  prepared  food,  they  ''fell 
to"  and  did  prodigious  deeds  of  valor  in  consuming 
vast  amounts  of  food.  But  regardless  of  the  enormity 
of  their  appetites,  in  most  instances,  no  man  was 
turned  away  hungry. 

Several  organizations  were  not  so  fortunate  as  to 
have  tables  on  which  to  serve  Thanksgiving  dinner 
and  were  forced  to  follow  the  ordinary  method  of 
feeding  the  soldiers.  The  day,  as  usual,  was  rainy 
and  these  organizations  ate  their  meals  in  the  rain, 
but  this  inconvenience  caused  them  little  worry,  since 
by  this  time  they  had  become  entirely  accustomed  to 
rain.  No  doubt,  the  meal  tasted  just  about  as  good  to 
them  served  in.  this  manner  as  it  did  to  the  more 
fortunate  ones  who  were  seated  at  tables,  though  had 
they  been  told  a  few  months  before  that  such  a 
thing  was  possible  they  would  have  received  the  in- 
formation with  disdain  and  unbelief. 

Probably  the  most  elaborate  Thanksgiving  meal 
served  by  any  organization  was  that  of  Brigade  head- 
quarters, where  the  men  of  that  detachment  col- 
lected a  special  mess  fund  of  over  seven  hundred 
francs  for  their  Thanksgiving  dinner.  No  better 
meal  than  the  one  served  to  them  could  have  been 
purchased  anywhere  outside  of  the  States.  They  had 
chicken,  eggs,  country  butter,  lettuce,  cabbage,  grapes, 
apples  and  pears;  and  wine  of  two  or  three  varieties 
also  formed  a  part  of  the  menu,  this  phase  of  the  meal 
serving  to  enliven  the  occasion.  The  toastmaster  was 
Sergeant  Kent  Watson,  Headquarters  Company,  133rd 
Regiment,  and  music  was  furnished  by  the  quartet 
from  the  111th  Ammunition  Train.  The  supper,  com- 
mencing at  7 :30  p.  m.,  was  served  in  family  style  by 
the  cooks,  and  closed  at  11 :00  p.  m. 


154 


Trail  of  the  61st 


After  Thanksgiving  Day  routine  barrack  life 
was  again  resumed.  The  artillerymen  were  sent  on 
all  day  mounted  hikes,  in  which  batteries  with  full 
equipment  were  moved  out  a  few  miles  from  camp 
to  assist  in  the  establishment  of  make-believe  offen- 
sive Dositions.     Men  of  the  Ammunition  Train  and 


All  ready  for  their  return  horiK^     A  Battery  of  the  131st  F.  A.  in  Coetquidan. 

Trench  Mortar  organizations  and  such  artillerymen  as 
remained  in  camp,  passed  the  time  in  doing  drills  and 
routine  camp  duty. 

It  was  soon  learned  by  the  authorities  that  the 
only  safe  plan  for  the  men,  now  that  the  armistice 
was  signed  and  incentive  for  work  was  removed,  was 
to  keep  them  as  busily  occupied  as  possible  with  inter- 
esting drills  or  other  engaging  work.  They  put  this 
plan  into  effect  and  the  men  had  very  little  time  dur- 
ing the  days  to  get  homesick  and  were  too  tired  dur- 
ing the  evenings  to  think  about  anything  except  re- 


Camp  de  Coetquidan  155 

tiring  early.  But  regardless  of  this  special  effort  on 
the  part  of  the  officers,  a  great  wave  of  homesickness 
swept  over  the  camp  and  the  men  longed  to  return  to 
their  homes  and  to  business  occupations,  realizing 
that  every  hour  spent  in  France  was  a  loss  to  them 
and  to  Uncle  Sam  since  they  could  not  render  any 
further  useful  service  to  their  government. 

It  seemed,  however,  that  General  Headquarters 
had  a  different  idea  about  the  usefulness  of  this  bri- 
gade, for  on  December  18th  orders  were  received  to 
entrain  for  Is-sur-til,  in  the  St.  Mihiel  sector.  Prepara- 
tions were  immediately  made  to  comply  with  this 
order  but  within  a  few  days  it  was  countermanded  by 
another  order  which  provided  for  the  early  departure 
of  the  brigade  for  home.  The  first  order  was  received 
sullenly  by  the  men,  who  believed  that  they  were 
being  ordered  to  become  a  part  of  the  Army  of  Occu- 
pation, but  the  second  order  was  received  with  a 
burst  of  enthusiastic  approval  that  made  the  camp 
ring  with  cheers. 

Immediate  steps  were  taken  for  the  turning  in 
of  all  equipment,  which  was  accomplished  by  Janu- 
ary 1st,  only  that  with  which  the  Brigade  embarked 
at  Hoboken  being  retained.  The  work  of  turning 
over  the  equipment  to  the  S.  0.  S.,  while  being  highly 
difficult,  was  cheerfully  accomplished  by  the  happy 
men  who  imagined  they  could  see  themselves  ap- 
proaching home  more  closely  as  each  article  was 
turned  in. 

But  for  some  unaccountable  reason  the  order  pro- 
viding for  the  early  departure  of  the  Brigade  failed 
to  arrive  at  the  expected  time  and  days  dragged  into 
weeks  and  weeks  into  months  before  it  did  come.  At 
first,  the  soldiers  were  optimistic,  and   expected   the 


156  Trail  of  the  61st 

order  to  arrive  at  any  day,  but  after  being  disap- 
pointed for  a  week  or  two,  they  became  pessimistic, 
and  morosely  concluded  that  they  were  to  undergo  the 
same  heartbreaking  delay  that  they  had  experienced 
at  Camp  Bowie. 

The  gloomy  weather,  too,  with  its  daily  rains, 
which  by  this  time  had  made  the  camp  a  veritable 
mud  wallow,  aided  in  keeping  the  spirits  of  the  men 
at  a  low  ebb;  with  their  mail  tied  up  and  all  of  their 
equipment  turned  in,  they  had  very  little  to  occupy 
their  minds  and  moped  about  their  barracks  day  after 
day,  impotently  cursing  and  vowing  that  Uncle  Sam 
would  have  to  show  an  unusual  burst  of  speed  if  he 
was  ever  able  to  catch  them  again  for  the  army.  They 
were  homesick  and  disgusted  with  everything  about 
the  army,  and  the  A.  E.  F.  in  particular. 

To  add  to  the  gloom  of  the  already  dismal  camp. 
General  Stephens  was  sent  to  the  camp  hospital  on 
December  30th  with  influenza.  At  first  he  did  not 
seem  to  be  dangerously  ill  but  his  case  rapidly  grew 
worse  and  developed  into  lobar-pneumonia,  of  which 
he  died,  January  4,  1919. 

John  E.  Stephens,  of  the  regular  army,  though 
a  strict  disciplinarian  and  champion  of  efficiency 
among  his  officers,  was  beloved  by  his  enlisted  men 
for  the  deep  interest  he  always  took  in  their  welfare 
and  for  the  just  manner  in  which  he  governed  them. 
During  all  of  the  time  he  was  commander  of  the  61st 
Brigade  he  was  constantly  solicitous  of  the  welfare  of 
his  men  and  attempted  at  all  times  to  make  camp  as 
comfortable  for  them  as  possible.  He  demanded  re- 
spect from  both  officers  and  men  in  the  61st  Brigade 
but  was  always  human  in  his  demands.  Immediately 
after  the  armistice  was  signed  he  petitioned  General 
Headquarters  to  allow  the  men  of  his  Brigade  to  visit 


Camp  de  Coetquidan  157 

the  Brittany  leave  area  at  St.  Milo  and  just  before 
his  death,  while  he  was  sick  at  the  hospital,  he  unduly- 
exposed  himself  because  of  his  anxiety  to  make  sure 
that  this  privilege,  which  was  being  unaccountably 
withheld  from  his  men,  was  renewed  and  kept  in 
force. 

His  funeral  was  held  in  camp  at  5  o'clock  p.  m. 
January  7,  all  military  work  being  suspended  during 
that  time.  The  guard  of  honor  chosen  for  the  funeral, 
consisted  of  twenty-five  non-commissioned  officers. 
The  escort  consisted  of  a  provisional  four-battalion 
regiment  composed  of  two  batteries  each  from  the 
131st  F.  A.,  the  132rd  F.  A.  and  the  133rd  F.  A.,  two 
companies  from  the  111th  Ammunition  Train  and  one 
battery  from  the  141st  F.  A.,  this  escort  carrying  the 
standard  and  colors  of  the  132nd. 

Six  sergeants  from  the  Brigade  were  selected  as 
pallbearers  and  two  colonels  and  two  lieutenant- 
colonels  were  chosen  as  honorary  pallbearers.  Music 
was  furnished  by  the  massed  bands  of  the  three  regi- 
ments in  the  Brigade. 

During  the  march,  eleven  minute  guns  were  fired 
and  the  ceremony  at  the  grave  included  a  salute  of 
eleven  guns  firing  three  volleys  of  one  round  each. 

The  following  oration  was  made  at  the  grave  of 
General  Stephens  by  General  D'Amade,  Commander, 
Tenth  Legion,  French  Army: 

"Commanding  the  Tenth  Legion,  I  come  to  bring 
the  tribute  of  my  country  to  General  Stephens. 

**He  left  his  native  land  to  fight  and  die  among 
so  many  gallant  soldiers  whose  blood  has  reddened 
the  soil  of  France. 

*'He  died  prematurely  as  a  soldier,  performing 
his  duty  in  training  his  men.     His  place  is  right  here 


158  Trail  of  the  61st 

among  them,  in  this  small  military  graveyard  where 
France  will  mount  guard  over  them  all. 

"General,  you  died  far  from  your  kin,  and  sleep 
your  last  sleep  in  French  soil,  close  to  the  sea  where 
twice  a  day  the  tide  will  bring  you  the  loving  remem- 
brance of  your  family  and  bear  to  them  the  assurance 
that  your  dear  remains  will  be  piously  guarded  over 
by  those  whom  you  came  to  rescue. '* 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  General  Stephens, 
Colonel  Otho  Farr,  a  regular  army  officer  from  the 
Verdun  front,  was  assigned  to  the  61st  Brigade  as  its  . 
commander,  assuming  command  January  10,  1919. 
Colonel  Farr  made  no  marked  changes  in  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Brigade  but  continued  it  along  the  same 
lines  and  under  the  same  plans  as  commenced  by 
General  Stephens.  He  came  to  the  Brigade  at  a  time 
when  the  organization  was  in  the  throes  of  uncer-  • 
tainty  about  leaving  for  home,  and  he  did  not  have 
an  opportunity  of  demonstrating  his  fighting  ability. 
He  conducted  the  affairs  of  the  Brigade  in  a  business- 
like, successful  manner,  which  resulted  in  smooth, 
satisfactory  life  in  camp. 

A  short  time  later.  Captain  MacGavin,  from  the 
staff  if  the  Chief  of  Artillery,  A.  E.  F.,  came  to  the 
Brigade  for  the  purpose  of  returning  home  with  it. 
At  that  time  it  was  understood  that  the  Brigade 
would  leave  shortly  for  the  states,  and  Captain  Mac- 
Gavin  had  been  sent  to  Coetquidan  to  join  the  Brigade 
in  order  to  leave  for  home  at  an  early  date.  He  was 
placed  in  Brigade  Headquarters,  relieving  Lieut.  Wil- 
liams, Brigade  Personnel  Adjutant,  who  was  trans- 
ferred to  headquarters  of  the  Commander  of  S.  0.  S. 
at  Tours.  Captain  MacGavin  immediately  demon- 
strated his  capacity  and  endeared  himself  to  the  whole 


Camp  de  Coetquidan 


159 


Brigade  by  the  manner  in  which  he  conducted  himself. 

The  Brittany  leave  area  was  thrown  open  to 
men  of  the  61st  during  the  latter  part  of  December, 
all  of  the  month  of  January  and  a  part  of  February, 
and  a  majority  of  the   men   in   the   Brigade   availed 


^ 


A  street  view  of  Rennes,  France,  showing  the  canal  which  runs  through  tlie 
principal  part  of  the  old  city.  Rennes,  with  a  population  (estimated)  of  seventy 
or  eighty  thousand,  was  only  a  short  distance  from  Camp  de  Coetquidan,  but  the 
trip  over  the  "narrow  guap;e"  usually  required  two  and  a  half  or  three  hours 
to  make  it.  After  the  Armistice  was  signed,  soldiers  of  the  61st  visited  Rennes 
frequently  to  enjoy  friend  "oeufs,"  ""pon'-me  de  tir,"  "fromage"  and  "vin  rouge," 
besides  the   pleasure   of  flirting  with  French  girls. 

themselves  of  this  opportunity  to  get  away  from 
camp  a  short  time  and  to  see  more  of  France.  Prob- 
ably half  of  the  men  in  camp  visited  St.  Malo  and 
surrounding  towns. 

During  the  last  two  months  the  soldiers  were  sta- 
tioned at  Coetquidan,  they  spent  the  majority  of  their 
time  in  preparing  for  the  journey  home,  though  much 
effort  was  spent  in  organizing  the  different  units  in 


160  Trail  of  the  61st 

such  a  way  that  all  men  could  be  easily  located  after 
they  had  arrived  in  America  and  had  been  mustered 
out  of  the  service.  The  131st  Regiment  perfected  an 
organization  quite  similar  to  that  of  a  city  govern- 
ment and  elected  a  mayor  and  a  board  of  aldermen 
to  conduct  the  affairs  of  the  regiment.  This  was 
done  primarily  for  the  purpose  of  being  used  later  as 
the  basis  of  a  permanent  organization,  when  the  men 
returned  to  their  homes.  Several  active  men  in  tha 
133rd  Regiment  conceived  the  idea  of  organizing  a 
Dallas  Club,  which  they  expected  to  broaden  into  a 
Texas  soldier  organization  after  the  Brigade  had 
been  mustered  out  of  the  service  in  Bowie.  They 
effected  a  close  organization,  elected  officers,  and  held 
several  meetings  for  the  purpose  of  creating  interest 
in  their  club  and  for  securing  the  support  of  the  men 
in  the  regiment.  Sergeant  Kent  Watson  was  selected 
as  publicity  manager,  and  it  was  understood  that  he 
was  to  continue  the  publication  of  The  Reconnaissance, 
which  was  to  be  adopted  as  the  official  organ  of  the 
Dallas  Club.  The  other  regiments,  though  not  organ- 
ized quite  as  definitely  as  the  131st  and  133rd,  also  de- 
veloped close  organizations  in  preparation  for  their 
home  coming. 

About  this  time,  interest  was  aroused  in  the 
preparation  of  histories,  and  all  of  the  regiments  pre- 
pared to  publish  histories  of  their  activities  in  the  war. 
The  ban  was  lifted  upon  the  taking  of  pictures  and 
many  kodaks  were  used  to  secure  photographs  of  the 
camp  and  the  surrounding  country;  it  was  really  sur- 
prising how  many  kodak  pictures  had  been  taken 
during  the  war,  even  though  military  rules  had  pro- 
hibited the  taking  of  pictures  during  that  time.  After 
the  plans  for  the  writing  of  histories  became  known, 
the  men  who  had  kodak  pictures  divulged  their  secrets 


Camp  de  Coetquidan 


161 


and  the  historians  had  no  serious  difficulty  in  secur- 
ing sufficient  pictures  for  their  works. 

During  the  entire  time  the  Brigade  spent  in  Coet- 
quidan two  regimental  papers  were  published  The 
Reconnaissance  was  published  at  Headquarters  of  the 
133rd  Regiment  and  the  Trail  Log  at  Headquarters  of 
the  131st  Regiment.  These  papers,  while  containing 
very  little   news  of   importance,   were   received   with 


Final  A.  E.  F.  inspection  of  Battery  "A,"  131st  F.A.  at  Coetquidan. 

appreciation  by  the  soldiers  of  the  two  regiments. 
The  mimeographed  copies  of  the  papers  were  al- 
ways welcomed  by  the  subscribers.  The  Stars  and 
Stripes,  The  New  York  Herald  and  the  Chicago  Tri- 
bune came  to  the  camp  fairly  regularly,  but  none  of 
these  papers  contained  as  much  interest  to  the  sol- 
diers of  the  131st  and  133rd  Regiments  as  the  regu- 
lar issues  of  the  Reconnaissance  and  the  Trail  Log. 
Sergeant  Kent  Watson  edited  the  Reconnaissance  and 


162  Trail  of  the  61st 

Sergeant   Hammil,   assisted    and    later    succeeded    by 
Sergeant  Woodyard,  edited  the  Trail  Log. 

About  the  first  of  January  an  order  was  received 
from  G.  H.  Q.  for  the  Brigade  to  turn  in  all  horses 
and  equipment,  the  horses  to  be  turned  over  to  the 
64th  Brigade,  which  occupied  a  part  of  Camp  Coet- 
quidan.  The  alacrity  and  joyousness  with  which 
members  of  the  61st  Brigade  complied  with  this  order 
were  in  direct  contrast  to  the  gloom  and  sorrow  with 
which  members  of  the  64th  Brigade  complied  with  it. 
Throughout  the  stay  of  the  61st  Brigade  in  Coetqui- 
dan,  friction  had  arisen  between  it  and  the  64th 
Brigade,  and  the  men  of  the  two  organizations  seem- 
ingly had  been  unable  to  live  well  together.  Many 
fist  fights  and  little  skirmishes  took  place  between  the 
troops  of  the  two  brigades  at  various  times  during 
their  training  period,  and  officers  and  men  of  the  two 
organizations  did  not  feel  any  too  kindly  toward  each 
other.  The  64th  Brigade  was  stationed  in  Coetquidan 
when  the  61st  arrived  there.  A  short  time  after  the 
signing  of  the  armistice,  when  troop  movements  were 
started  to  the  United  States,  this  brigade  received 
orders  to  prepare  for  the  trip  home,  but  due  to  some 
unknown  cause,  the  order  was  rescinded,  and  the 
brigade  was  held  in  Coetquidpn  without  knowing  the 
reason  why  it  was  so  held.  When  the  61st  received 
orders  from  G.  H.  Q.  to  prepare  for  embarkation  and 
the  horses,  of  that  brigade  were  started  to  the  64th, 
the  friction  between  the  two  organizations  became  so 
warm  that  it  resulted  in  a  number  of  encounters  and 
from  that  time  until  the  61st  left  camp  the  men  of  the 
two  organizations  did  not  get  along  weM  with  each 
other. 

By  the  latter  part  of  January  all  equipment  of 
the  61st  had  been  turned  in,  and  the  organization  was 


Camp  de  Coetquidan  163 

ready  to  leave  for  the  States,  but  the  order  permitting 
the  breaking  of  camp  did  not  arrive  until  the  18th 
of  February,  when  Brigade  Headquarters,  the  131st 
F.  A.,  the  111th  Trench  Mortar  Battery  and  the  111th 
Ammunition  Train  received  orders  to  prepare  for  an 
immediate  departure.  The  news  of  this  order  spread 
like  wild  fire  over  the  camp  and  intense  excitement  fol- 
lowed. All  soldiers  were  ordered  back  to  camp  from 
leave  areas  and  they  came  straggling  in  on  the  fol- 
lowing day. 

On  February  20,  officers  who  were  to  remain  in 
France,  received  orders  to  report  to  the  various  camps 
where  they  were  to  be  assigned  for  further  duty  in 
the  A.  E.  F.  Preparation  was  made  throughout  the 
Brigade  for  final  inspection,  and  several  organizations 
were  inspected  that  afternoon. 

The  morning  of  February  21st  saw  most  of  the 
units  marching  from  Coetquidan  and  by  the  24th  the 
entire  Brigade  had  left  camp. 


VIII. 

LEAVE  AREAS 

After  the  signing  of  the  armistice  and  it  was 
learned  that  the  61st  Brigade  was  not  to  be  ordered 
to  Is-sur-til,  the  soldiers  had  nothing  to  engage  their 
attention  except  tiresome  uninteresting  drills.  Home- 
sickness, and  discontent  so  threatened  the  camp  that 
General  Stephens  began  the  attempt  to  secure  a  leave 
area  for  his  men.  He  communicated  with  G.  H.  Q. 
about  the  matter  and  by  the  middle  of  December  re- 
ceived authority  to  send  a  certain  number  of  men 
each  day  to  the  St.  Malo  leave  area,,  on  the  English 
Channel  near  the  Shetland  Islands. 

Memoranda  were  immediately  issued  to  the 
brigade  units,  authorizing  organization  commanders 
to  choose  a  certain  number  of  men  each  day  for  the 
leave  area,  and  all  men  so  chosen  were  required  to 
have  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  francs  in  their 
possession.  It  was  deemed  inadvisable  to  send  men 
away  on  leave  without  money,  even  when  all  living  ex- 
penses were  to  be  furnished. 

After  the  Brigade  memorandum  was  issued  about 
one  hundred  men  assembled  each  day  at  Brigade  head- 
quarters, where  they  received  passes  for  the  trip  to 
St.  Malo  and  were  loaded  into  trucks  and  hauled  to 
Guer  to  board  French  trains  for  Rennes.  Arriving 
at  Rennes,  they  were  properly  checked  out  of  that 
town  by  the  Assistant  Provost  Marshal  and  continued 
on  their  way  until  they  reached  the  old  town  of  St. 
Malo. 

(164) 


Leave  Areas 


165 


They  detrained  here  but  were  held  at  the  station 
by  officers  of  the  leave  area  until  all  arrangements 
had  been  perfected  for  their  entrance  into  the  town. 
They  were  examined  by  physicians,  their  clothes  were 
inspected  and  they  received  explicit  instructions  about 
their  deportment  while  on  leave.     They  learned  where 


^■>*<  Ar^=55s%«'j:*i*  ,^«^^j 


The  train  that  run  from  Rennes  to  Guer  passed  through  Camp  de  Coetquidan 
and  men  from  ca.mp  rode  on  it  frequently  on  their  trips  to  Rennes.  It  was  the 
slowest  thing  in  France  and  was  pulled  by  such  diminutive  engines  that  the 
boys  sometimes  had  to  get  out  of  the  coaches  and  push  in  order  to  help  it  get  over 
the  steep  hills.  The  picture  shows  how  small  and  poorly  equipped  the  cars  were 
for  accommodating  travelers.  This  was  one  road  that  onmpelled  the  men  to 
huy  tickets  when  riding  on  it,  though  they  were  able  to  ride  almost  anywhere 
else  in  Fraxice  without  paying  for  their  tickets. 

and  in  what  manner  they  were  to  be  housed  and  fed 
and  other  information  considered  necessary  in  mak- 
ing them  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  leave  area  and 
its  regulations. 

After  these  preliminaries,  which  occupied  about 
two  or  three  hours,  they  were  lined  up,  assigned  to 
certain  hotels,  for  which  they  received  entrance  tick- 
ets, and  were  placed  under  the  guidance  of  soldiers 


166  Trail  of  the  61st 

who  directed  them  to  their  proper  destinations  and 
saw  to  it  that  they  were  satisfactorily  located  there. 

The  leave  area  included  the  quaint  old  towns  of 
St.  Malo,  built  on  an  island  of  solid  rock  and  sur- 
rounded by  a  sea  wall  noted  all  over  France  for  its 
impregnability;  Parame,  which  is  connected  with  St. 
Malo  by  a  causeway  known  as  "Sillion,"  and  is  a  very 
beautiful  old  city  containing  many  spots  and  buildings 
of  historical  interest;  St.  Servan,  which  lies  beyond 
the  other  port  of  St.  Malo,  on  the  bay  at  the  foot  of  a 
rocky  promontory ;  and  Dinard  which  has  a  coast  line 
of  striking  variety  and  beauty,  and  which  for  years 
has  been  a  leading  pleasure  resort  for  tourists  and 
wealthy  Frenchmen.  Dinard  lies  across  the  bay  from 
St.  Malo. 

The  soldiers  were  divided  among  the  four  towns, 
and  were  placed  in  the  best  hotels,  where  they  were 
served  well-cooked,  appetizing  food  and  received  the 
accommodations  of  welcome  guests,  this  service  hav- 
ing been  made  possible  by  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment which  paid  the  hotel  keepers  regular  rates  for 
each  soldier  while  he  was  lodged  in  their  hotels. 

When  the  men  arrived  at  the  hotels  they  were 
"shown  up"  by  dainty  French  maids  who  ushered 
them  into  cheerful,  clean  rooms  where  their  wonder- 
ing eyes  beheld  old-fashioned,  thick  feather  beds  with 
white  coverlets  and  pillow  cases.  They  took  just  one 
look  at  these  beds  and  decided  that  they  were  amply 
repaid  for  all  of  the  inconveniences  they  had  suffered 
in  reaching  this  spot.  They  were  informed  that  meals 
were  served  in  the  dining  rooms  from  eleven  to  one 
o'clock  and  from  five  o'clock  until  seven  o'clock  each 
day  and  that  breakfast  would  be  served  to  them  in 
t?ieir  rooms  before  they  arose  if  they  so  desired. 


Leave  Areas  167 

After  quickly  washing  the  stains  of  their  journey 
from  faces  and  hands,  they  proceeded  promptly  to  the 
dining  rooms,  which  proved  to  be  highly  attractive. 
Tables,  either  for  two  or  four  people,  covered  with 
white  linens  and  decorated  with  vases  of  at- 
tractive flowers,  waited  in  uneven  order  for  them; 
and  white-aproned  waitresses  completed  the  pret- 
ty  picture.        They   seated   themselves    at   the   tables 


A  high  wave  breaking  over  the  seal  wall  at  St.  Malo,  France,  which  is  built 
upon  a  rocky  island  in  the  English  Channel  and  is  protectefi  by  the  wonderful 
sea  wall,  shown  in  the  foreground. 

and  were  served  their  first  satisfying,  respectable  meal 
since  they  had  been  in  France.  Beginning  with  a 
course  of  some  relish,  they  were  presented  with  an  ap- 
petizing five-course  meal  that  left  nothing  for  the  ap- 
petite to  desire. 

As  soon  as  they  had  completed  their  first  meal, 
most  of  them  found  their  way  to  the  **Y,"  which,  in 
most  of  the  towns,  was  a  building  that  had  been  used 


168  Trail  of  the  61st 

before  the  war  as  a  casino.  They  were  greeted  here  by 
opportunities  for  enjoyment  which  they  had  never 
dreamed  possible  to  be  found  in  France.  If  they  de- 
sired to  dance  they  found  willing  French  girls  who 
were  kept  at  the  casino  to  dance  with  them,  and  good 
music  and  a  polished  floor  awaiting  their  entrance  into 
the  gaiety ;  if  they  desired  to  play  games  an  abundant 
supply  of  all  kinds  lay  ready  for  their  use;  or  if 
they  desired  good  books  to  read  their  desires  were  sat- 
isfied by  a  large  library  which  was  near  at  hand ;  rea- 
sonable amusements  of  all  kinds  were  open  to  them. 

Each  evening  they  were  entertained  in  the  audi- 
toriums of  the  casinos  by  wonderful  shows  and  every 
day  they  were  taken  on  excursion  to  places  of  interest 
by  Y.  M.  C.  A.  men  who  were  thoroughly  familiar 
with  the  points  to  be  seen  and  who  intelligently  de- 
scribed them.  The  excursions  proved  to  be  the  life  of 
the  leave  area,  for  after  the  soldiers  had  been  there 
for  two  or  three  days  and  had  become  thoroughly  rested 
and  caught  up  with  their  sleep,  they  eagerly  em- 
braced the  opportunity  of  visiting  the  many  points  of 
historic  interest  in  the  old  towns  and  their  environs. 

Excursions  were  made  to  Dinan,  where  Queen 
Anne  had  built  her  castle  and  had  lived  for  so  many 
years;  to  Mont  St.  Michel,  one  of  the  wonders  of 
Europe  for  its  site  and  its  gothic,  religious  and  mili- 
tary architecture ;  to  St.  Lunaire,  a  frequented  bath- 
ing place;  and  to  many  other  points  of  interest,  such 
as  St.  Briac,  the  Chateau  of  the  Guildo,  St.  Cast  and 
Cape  Frehel. 

But  of  all  the  places  visited  on  the  excursions, 
Mont  St.  Michel  was  by  far  the  most  interesting.  This 
old  Monastery  is  located  on  an  isolated  rock  one  mile 
from  the  seashore  and  sits  more  than  two  hundred 


Leave  Areas 


169 


feet  above  the  level  of  the  water.  According  to  legend 
it  was  founded  by  order  of  the  Archangel  Michael  in 
the  year  709,  by  St.  Aubert,  Bishop  of  Abranches. 

The  following  extracts  from  Stoddard  Dewey's 
description  of  the  old  Castle  gives  some  insight  into 
its  wonderful  beauty  and  attractiveness : 


Crossing  from   Dinard   to   St.   Malo   in   one   of  the   little   harbor  ferries, 
bea.utiful  and  most  enjoyable  trip  for  half  a  franc. 


"The  view  across  the  bay  is,  to  the  east,  on  Nor- 
mandy, and  to  the  west,  on  Brittany.  *  *  *  * 
*  The  high  ramparts,  dating  before  and  after  four- 
teen hundred,  form  an  outer  circle  around  the  habita- 
tions of  the  island  and  are  strengthened  by  towers  and 
bastions,  *  *  *  r^^^  ramblings  of  the  abbey  oc- 
cupy the  whole  upper  rock,  into  which  indeed  they 
are  often  built;  and  above  all,  rises  the  modern  spire 
of  the  church  with  the  gilt  statute  of  the  Archangel 
Michael  *  *  *^  rpj^^  abbey  is  surrounded  by  bat- 
tlemented  walls,  through  which  single  entrance  is  the 
fortified  gate  under  the  donjon  between  two  tur- 
rets    * 


* 


HcJJ 


170  Trail  of  the  61st 

The  point  of  next  importance  to  St.  Malo  was 
Dinan.  Historical  features  and  many  points  of  interest 
were  visited  by  the  soldiers  in  Dinan,  yet  one  of  the 
most  memorable  features  of  their  excursion  there  was 
the  wonderful  five-course  dinner  served  to  them  at  an 
old  French  hotel.  The  men  had  never  before  seen  such 
a  meal  in  France,  and  very  few  of  them  had  seen  such 
a  meal  even  in  America.  They  carried  away  the  mem- 
ory of  the  great  dining  hall,  the  long  white-clothed 
tables,  and  the  beautiful  dishes  of  steaming  food,  as 
one  of  the  fine  things  of  their  stay  in  the  leave  area. 

In  the  words  of  Dewey,  again,  let  us  describe 
Dinan : 

''Dinan,  up  the  river  Ranee  (18  miles  south  of 
St.  Malo),  which  offers  very  picturesque  landscapes 
as  the  river  narrow^s  and  expands  in  successive  lakes, 
has  its  name  from  ancient  hermits  of  St.  Anthony  * 
*  *  The  best  point  of  view  is  the  tower  of  St.  Cath- 
erine in  the  Square  of  The  Duchess  Anne,  which  forms 
a  terrace  over  the  valley  "^  *  *.  In  front  is  th^ 
interesting  church  of  St.  Sauver  which  has  a  Roman- 
esque portal  and  right  side,  but  a  flamboyant  Gothic 
left  side  extending  in  to  the  upper  part  of  the  facade. 
The  Romanesque  side  is  w^orth  studying  inside  and 
out  for  its  twelfth-century  carving  *  *  *  ^  ]j^_ 
tie  way  from  the  church  through  streets  with  old 
houses,  the  slate  covered  Clock  Tower  still  rings  a 
bell  given  by  Queen  Anne  of  Brittainy  in  1507." 

Most  of  the  casinos,  in  which  the  Y.  M.  C.  As. 
w^ere  quartered,  had  interesting  histories,  the  one  at 
Dinard  being  especially  interesting  because  of  the 
American  connection  with  it.  It  was  said  that  one 
evening  when  Harry  K.  Thaw  was  spending  a  season 
in  Dinard  and  was  gambling  in  the  High  Life  casino 
he  was  so  lucky  as  to  win  the  casino.  The  next 
evening,  however,  his  good  fortune  forsook  him  and 


Leave  Areas  171 

he  not  only  gambled  away  the  casino,  but  also  lost 
an  additional  $18,000. 

The  High  Life  casino  at  Dinard  is  one  of  the 
most  famous  gambling  halls  in  Europe.  It  has  been 
said  that  before  the  war  most  of  the  noblemen  and 
wealthy  people  of  France  came  to  Dinard  for  their 
gambling  in  preference  to  going  to  Monte  Carlo. 


i«i   >>K.   s»-  '^  igg  m  ]^ 

'    I  J 
.    f   f 


■"vSLi-?-^  '""*■* V  „- "J    'j  ~'^  Vsv^     ,-i«!V-'-- 


A  snapshot  of  St.  Malo  and  her  famous  old  sea  wall.  This  city  has  been 
prominent  in  the  history  of  Fraaice  since  the  Danish  invasion.  It  is  congested 
and  roughened  with  age,  but  contains  so  many  historical  spots  and  buildings 
that  it  will  always  be  attractive. 

Whether  or  not  this  is  true,  it  is  an  established 
fact  that  this  pleasure  resort  was  a  favorite  with 
the  sporting  tourists  from  America  and  England,  for 
many  fine  homes  and  the  general  appearance  of  the 
town  show  the  influence  of  American  money. 

Most  of  the  men  greatly  appreciated  the  French 
beds  on  which  they  slept  and  the  dining  service  which 
permitted  breakfast  to  be  served  to  them  in  their 
rooms.     They  had  grown  accustomed  to  the  inconven- 


172 


Trail  of  the  61st 


iences  of  camp  where  they  received  only  rough  food 
and  had  to  do  all  of  their  own  work,  so  the  privilege 
of  touching  a  button  close  beside  their  beds  and  there- 
by producing  a  tinkling  of  a  bell  in  the  distance 
which  was  followed  promptly  by  the  appearance  of 
a  trim  maid  who  smilingly  received  their  orders  for 
breakfast,  seemed  almost  like  a  change  from  Hades 


Parame,  France,  and  her  boulevard.  The  history  of  Parame  dates  back  to  the 
sixth  century  B.  C,  and  there  are  some  spots  on  its  site  that  are  said  to  liave 
been   occupied  by   the  Romans. 

to  Heaven.  They  lay  cozily  in  their  beds  after  having 
rung  for  their  breakfasts  and  with  sighs  of  satisfac- 
tion awaited  the  second  arrival  of  the  maids  with  trays 
of  either  steaming  coffee,  chocolate,  or  milk,  finely  flav- 
ored French  bread  and  jam  or  fruit  butter. 

While  they  ate  this  enjoyable  breakfast,  the  maids 
busied  themselves  about  the  rooms  in  throwing  open 
the  shutters,  in  putting  the  chairs  and  disordered  arti- 
cles in  place  and  in  administering  to  the  men  at  their 


Leave  Areas  173 

meals.  These  "Femmes  de  Chambres,"  women  of  the 
chamber,  were  usually  bright  French  lassies,  who 
could  not  do  too  much  for  the  American  soldiers. 
They  seemed  especially  attractive  to  the  men  who 
had  been  in  camps  for  so  long  and  who  were  home- 
sick for  the  companionship  of  women. 

While  in  the  leave  area,  the  men  were  given 
bathing  tickets,  which  admitted  them  to  special  bath 
rooms,  where  they  could  take  either  tub  or  shower 
baths.  Few  of  these  tickets  were  used,  however,  even 
though  for  the  past  few  weeks  many  of  the  men  had 
been  unable  to  bathe  in  Camp  Coetquidan,  for  the 
men  were  too  comfortably  located  and  were  having 
too  enjoyable  a  time  to  be  bothered  about  such  an  un- 
important thing  as  bathing.  They  were  having  an 
opportunity  to  rest  and  to  enjoy  themselves  and  they 
refused  to  mar  their  good  times  by  undergoing  such  a 
shock  as  a  bath  would  surely  have  produced. 

The  men  stayed  in  the  leave  area  for  a  period  of 
several  days,  when  they  were  assembled  at  the  railroad 
station,  checked  out  by  officers  and  sent  back  to  Camp 
de  Coetquidan.  Their  experiences  upon  leaving  the 
station  at  St.  Malo  were  very  similar  to  those  upon 
their  arrival  a  week  before.  They  were  examined 
physically,  were  checked  out  according  to  lists  and 
given  lectures  about  the  proper  attitude  they  should 
maintain  toward  the  United  States  government  be- 
cause of  the  fine  treatment  they  had  been  accorded 
while  in  the  leave  area. 

They  were  then  placed  on  special  trains  and  were 
carried  slowly  back  through  Rennes  to  Guer,  where 
they  detrained  and  marched  to  camp,  a  happy,  satis- 
fied lot  of  soldiers  even  though  returning  to  the 
grind  of  camp  life.     They  had  acquired  a  new  appre- 


174 


Trail  of  the  61st 


elation  for  their  government  and  the  pleasant  mem- 
ory of  their  leaves  served  as  an  incentive  to  work. 

The  officers  of  one  or  tv^o  units  were  allowed 
to  spend  their  leaves  in  the  famous  old  border  town  of 
Nice,  where  they  had  the  opportunity  of  crossing 
into  Ita-y  for  a  few  feet.  They  visited  Monte  Carlo, 
cl'mbed  the  Alps  and  reveled  in  the  pleasures  of  fa- 
mous old  Nice. 


Parane,  France,  like  St.  Malo  is  surrounded  by  a  high,  protecting  sea  wall, 
but  occasionally,  a.s  shown  in  this  picture,  the  great  waves  of  the  ocean  break 
over  and  flood  its  broad  top. 


Many  men  were  given  leaves  to  Paris,  and 
were  thereby  able  to  satisfy  their  desire  to  see  the 
French  capital  before  leaving  France.  All  who  saw 
Paris  were  greatly  impressed  with  her  beautiful,  sym- 
metrical buildings,  her  winding,  attractive  streets, 
her  many  points  of  historical  interest  and  her  gaiety. 
They  visited  the  Champ-Elysees,  the  Place  de  Con- 
cord,  the   Madelaine,   the   Opera,   Notre   Dame,   Ver- 


Leave  Areas 


175 


sailles  and  many  other  important  historical  spots 
until  they  felt  satisfied  that  they  had  acquired  some 
idea  of  this  most  wonderful  French  city.  The  sub- 
way of  Paris  was  a  revelation  to  the  astonished  vis- 
itors because  they  had  no  idea  that  such  a  transpor- 
tation system  was  possible  in  France,  where  practi- 
cally all  of  the  machinery  they  had  seen  was  anti- 
quated and  unmodern.    Though  unable  to  read  French, 


St.    Malo,    looking   ax;ross    the   channel    from    St.   Servan.     This   old   city   Is 
attractive   from  all   sides  but    is  especially   pretty   when  viewed   from   St.    Servan. 

they  found  tha  subway  system  so  conveniently  ar- 
ranged that  they  were  able  to  easily  find  their  way 
about  the  city. 

Rennes  and  Redon,  both  lying  close  to  Coetqui- 
dan,  were  made  special  leave  towns  for  the  men  of 
the  61st,  and  forty-eight  hour  passes  were  granted 
to  these  places  at  practically  any  time  the  men  chose 
to  go.  Genera!  Stephens  believed  that  his  soldiers 
could  do  better  work  when  they  had  some  enjoyment 


176 


Trail  of  the  61st 


and  he  saw  to  it  that  they  were  allowed  the  privilege 
of  visiting  Rennes  and  Redon  with  great  frequency. 
Every  Sunday  many  truck  loads  of  soldiers  were 
hauled  to  the  two  towns,  where  the  men  spent  the 
day  and  returned  in  the  evening. 

A  few  soldiers  were  allowed  passes  to  the  front 
in  order  to  visit  relatives  or  to  locate  the  remains 
of  deceased  relatives  who  had  fallen  on  the  fields  of 


Old  forsts  in  the  English  Channel  near  St.  Malo.  They  are  forbidding  in 
appearance  but  very  interesting  because  of  the  rich  legends  that  surround  tiiem. 
Most  of  the  forts  were  captured  by  the  Danes  in  their  invasion  of  northern 
France  and  have  wonderful  histories  dating  from  tha.t  time  and  some  of  them 
even  before. 


battle.  Also,  a  number  of  men  were  permitted  to 
visit  Bourges,  the  Central  Records  Office,  in  order  to 
search  the  records  for  trace  of  relatives  whom  they 
were  unable  to  locate  otherwise  and  had  reason  to  be- 
lieve had  been  killed  in  battle. 

During  the  last  month  or  two  of  their  stay  in 
France  the  men  had  little  complaint  to  make  of  the 
manner  in   which   they  were  treated,   for  practically 


Leave  Areas  177 

the  only  reason  why  any  man  failed  to  enjoy  himself 
was  because  he  lacked  funds  with  which  to  do  so. 
The  opportunity  to  go  on  leaves  was  given  to  all 
men  and  most  of  them  availed  themselves  of  it  and 
went  somewhere  if  only  to  nearby  small  towns. 

Regardless  of  where  they  went  on  leaves,  how- 
ever, few  paid  railroad  fares  while  traveling.  Ac- 
cording to  military  rules  they  were  not  permitted  to 
travel  in  first-class  coaches,  but  not  only  did  they 
ride  in  first-class  coaches,  but  they  also  rode  free 
of  charge.  When  a  French  conductor  approached 
them  and  asked  for  their  fare  or  told  them  to  move 
to  second-class  coaches,  they  invariably  answered 
him  with  a  "no  compree;  no  compree"  or  a  "Je  ne 
comprend  pas,"  even  though  they  understood  perfectly 
what  he  said.  Since  he  could  only  argue  with  them  and 
without  making  any  headway,  he  always  gave  up  the 
task  as  hopeless  and  left  them  where  they  were 
without  collecting  their  fares.  Some  men  used  this 
plan  so  successfully  that  they  rode  several  thousand 
miles  in  France  without  paying  a  cent  for  railroad  fare. 


IX. 

ST.  NAZAIRE 

The  first  contingent  of  home-going  troops  left 
Coetquidan  for  Guer  at  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  February  2nd  and  marched  to  the  station  through 
a  hard,  cold  rain.  Before  entraining  they  were  given 
a  send  off  by  a  few  Y.  M.  C.  A.  girls,  who  had  come 
down  from  camp  for  this  purpose. 

The  enlisted  men  were  loaded  into  box  cars  of 
the  "40  hommes;  8  chevaux"  variety,  and  the  officers 
were  placed  in  cars  of  the  first  class,  while  the  non-com- 
missioned officers  were  assigned  to  cars  of  the  second 
class.  The  privates  and  such  non-commissioned  officers 
as  were  assigned  to  the  cattle  cars  used  their  heavy 
packs  for  seats  and  rode  on  them  to  St.  Nazaire. 

The  train  left  the  station  only  after  endless 
switchings  and  countless  stops  and  the  soldiers  were 
so  affected  by  this  delay  that  their  patience  was  worn 
thread-bare.  The  attitude  of  mind  was  not  relieved 
by  the  fact  that  a  steady  rain  poured  down  and  the 
poorly  protected  box  cars  soon  became  thoroughly 
soaked  with  water. 

Sandwiches  of  butter  and  jam  had  been  pro- 
vided for  each  car,  and  this  food  was  placed  in  large 
boxes  which  were  carefully  guarded.  Long  before 
noon,  however,  hunger  assailed  the  troops  and  they 
so  insistently  clamored  for  food  that  the  boxes  were 
opened  and  the  contents  were  eaten  before  eleven 
o'clock. 

(178) 


St.  Nazaire  179 

By  two-thirty  p.  m.  the  train  arrived  at  St.  Na- 
zaire, which  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  unattractive 
cities  the  soldiers  had  seen  in  France,  and  they  de- 
trained with  some  misgivings.  They  were  marched 
through  a  part  of  the  town,  to  a  hard  surfaced  road 
which  led  away  from  the  town,  along  the  harbor, 
where  several  large  ships  could  be  seen.  As  the 
men  caught  their  second  view  of  the  ocean  and  the 
salty  sea  breezes  attacked  their  nostrils,  they  burst 
forth  into  mighty  cheers. 

They  proceeded  toward  camp,  the  heavy  packs 
soon  telling  on  them,  and  after  they  had  marched 
about  a  mile  they  were  halted  for  a  rest,  which  was 
taken  on  the  edge  of  a  large  wall,  overlooking  the 
harbor.  They  stopped  here  a  while  to  watch  the 
ocean  waves  break  against  the  wall  and  then  pro- 
ceded  eagerly  over  a  rapidly  ascending  road  to  Camp 
No.  2  which  was  entered  with  the  expectation  of  finding 
billets  where  they  could  settle  for  the  night.  They 
had  scarcely  entered  the  camp  when  they  were  halted, 
and  since  they  were  fatigued  from  the  hike,  they 
accepted  the  opportunity  to  remove  their  heavy 
packs  and  to  catch  a  moment's  rest. 

They  waited  in  line  only  a  short  time  when  they 
were  told  to  drop  their  packs  and  to  proceed  to  a 
mess  hall  on  the  crest  of  a  nearby  hill.  They  were 
hungry  because  of  the  unusual  exertions  they  had 
undergone  during  the  day  and  quickly  made  their 
way  to  the  mess  hall  where  they  were  served  sup- 
per in  company  with  thousands  of  other  troops. 
They  were  started  into  the  mess  hall  through  a  long 
enclosed  chute,  from  which  they  emerged,  with  their 
messkits  full  of  food,  into  a  large  room  filled 
with  rough  tables  before  which  men  stood  eating  from 
messkits. 


180 


Trail  of  the  61st 


■"gr^. 


An  aeiial  photograph  of  St.  Xazaire  and  her  harbor  locks.  The  locks 
extend  a  considerable  distance  into  the  ocean  and  during  the  war  were  kept 
closely  guarded.  Sedment  from  the  Loire  river,  which  passes  through  the  city, 
has  been  caxried  out  into  tlie  ocean  by  the  current  of  the  stream  and  has  seri- 
ously affected  the  usefulness  of  the  harbor  by  making  the  water  too  shallow 
to  allow  large  vessels  to  dock  there. 


St.  Nazaire  181 

After  they  had  completed  the  meal  and  had 
washed  their  messkits  they  returned  promptly  to 
their  packs  and  again  lined  up  according  to  passenger 
list.  They  were  quickly  hustled  through  an  examina- 
tion building,  and  subjected  to  a  searching  examiiidtion 
for  cooties.  Only  a  few  had  these  little  pets,  but 
those  few  were  detained  for  special  treatment  and 
the  remainder  were  allowed  to  return  to  their  packs. 

They  reshouldered  their  packs,  marched  about  a 
mile  to  another  camp,  known  as  Camp  No.  1,  where 
they  w^ere  promptly  taken  to  a  delousing  plant,  at 
the  entrance  of  which  they  deposited  all  of  cheir 
valuables  in  piles  and  left  them  there  in  the  care 
of   officers    who    remained    outside    to    guard    them. 

Upon  entering  the  delousing  plant,  they  were  in- 
structed to  unfold  their  packs,  to  throw  their  blan- 
kets into  a  large  pile  and  to  hang  all  of  their  clothes 
on  individually  numbered  racks,  provided  for  that 
purpose.  These  racks  which  were  set  on  wheels, 
rested  on  tracks  that  led  into  large,  air-tight  steel 
tanks,  where  steam  was  applied  to  the  clothes.  With 
all  clothes  removed  and  armed  with  only  the  pro- 
tection nature  afforded  them,  the  men  were  herded  into 
another  large  room  where  they  were  given  a  iwo- 
mmute  shower  bath,  one  minute  hot  and  the  other 
cold.  They  lefc  this  room  and  were  led  into  another 
apartment  where  towels,  underwear  and  socks  were 
issued  to  them.  After  they  had  quickly  dried  them-' 
selves  and  had  donned  their  underwear,  they  were 
next  taken  into  a  very  large  room  where  they  re- 
ceived their  deloused  clothes,  which  were  still  damp 
from  the  steam.  They  were  given  a  new  supply  of 
blankets  and  shelter  halves,  into  which  thev  bun- 
died  their  remaining  clothes,  and  were  marched  out  of 
the  delousing  plant  to  the  barracks  assigned  to  them. 


182  Trail  of  the  61st 

Both  the  barracks  and  the  three-decked  bunks 
in  chem  were  built  of  substantial  pine.  The  bunks 
were  provided  with  bedsacks  already  filled  with 
straw  and  these  were  quickly  covered  with  blankets. 
The  men  arranged  their  equipment  conveniently  in  the 
billets  by  either  piling  it  under  their  bedsacks  or  by 
hanging  as  much  of  it  as  possible  along  the  v/alls  to 
thb  rear  of  their  bunks,  and  were  instructed  to  be 
especially  careful  about  display  of  their  equipment, 
as  camp  authorities  were  strict  on  this  point. 

Life  in  camp  at  St.  Nazaire  was  anything  but 
enjoyable,  because  all  of  the  troops  were  under  a  se- 
vere strain  in  avoiding  anything  which  could  possibly 
keep  them  from  embarking  for  America  immediately. 
Camp  rules  were  so  strict  that  the  men  had  no  free- 
dom and  remained  in  their  barracks  most  of  the 
time,  fearful  lest  their  appearance  in  other  parts 
of  Che  camp  might  militate  against  them.  They  noted 
with  uneasiness  that  the  rules  under  which  the  camp 
was  conducted  provided  for  strict  observance  of  a'l 
military  courtesies,  that  no  loud  talking  while  march- 
ing to  and  from  mess  was  tolerated  and  that  especial 
care  must  be  observed  in  the  cleanliness  and  order 
of  their  barracks,  and  that  barracks  were  to  be  in- 
spected daily  by  camp  officers. 

They  learned  that  men  had  been  kept  in  camp 
as  long  as  thirty  days  for  committing  such  minor 
offenses  as  failing  to  properly  salute  an  officer  while 
passing  him  in  camp ;  that  whole  units  had  been  re- 
tained in  camp  for  thirty  days  because  a  few  of 
their  men  had  not  been  as  careful  in  observing  military 
regulations  as  they  should  have  been. 

Moreover,   the  men   were   made   apprehensive  by 
the  attitude  of  their  officers,  who  felt  the  responsi- 


St.  Nazaire  183 

bility  of  getting  their  men  safely  through  the  de- 
barkation camp  and  loaded  on  ships  for  home  and  who 
were  therefore  more  cross  and  exacting  than  usual. 
All  officers  were  kept  busy  meeting  requirements  of 
the  debarkation  officers  and  were  so  afraid  of  mak- 
ing some  error  that  they  were  less  patient  than  they 
otherwise  would  have  been. 

Great  care  was  exercised  in  marching  troops  to 
and  from  mess.     Regardless  of  the  weather — whether 


A  close-up   view   of  the  harbor  of  St.   Nazaire,   sliowins  a   number  of  ocean 
liners  dockod  at  the  piers. 

sunshiny  or  stormy — the  men  were  cailed  out  of 
their  barracks  and  formed  in  lines  at  mess  times 
to  await  orders  for  proceeding  to  the  mess  hall.  Often 
they  had  to  stand  in  the  rain  for  as  long  as  a 
half  or  three-quarters  of  an  hour  before  they  could 
even  start  to  their  meals,  and  after  they  did  get 
started  many  units  were  ahead  of  them  and  the 
mess  halls  accommodated  troops  so  slowly  that  they 


184  Trail  of  the  61st 

were  forced  to  halt  many  times  before  arriving  there. 
It  sometimes  took  three-quarters  of  an  hour  to  make 
the  trip.  They  were  not  allowed  to  do  any  talking 
while  in  mess  formation,  but  were  marched  all  of 
the  way  to  and  from  their  meals  at  attention.  More- 
over, they  could  never  tell  at  what  hours  they  were 
to  have  their  meals,  because  their  entrance  into  the 
mess  line  was  entirely  dependent  upon  the  whim  of 
mess  officers. 

While  encamped  at  St.  Nazaire,  French  money 
WPS  exchanged  for  American  money  and  the 
ir>en  were  delighted  to  again  see  the  coins  from 
tneir  nome  land.  They  had  been  using  francs  and 
centimes  long  enough  to  have  grown  thoroughly  ac- 
customed to  them,  but  they  were  a  pleased  lot  of 
men  to  exchange  their  French  coins  for  dollars  and 
cents.  When  they  had  received  American  money 
they  felt  themselves  to  be  re-Americanized.  Very 
few  had  French  money  to  exchange  and  many  of 
those  who  did  visited  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  canteens,  where 
for  the  first  time  in  many  months  they  saw  and 
purchased  bountiful  amounts  of  cakes,  candies  and 
other  sweets.  They  remembered  their  food  expe- 
riences on  the  way  over  and  how  hungry  they  had 
been  for  candy  and  promised  themselves  to  lay  in  a 
good  supply  of  such  things  before  embarking  on  the 
home  voyage,  but  they  were  disappointed  in  this  re- 
spect, the  order  for  embarkation  finding  them  much 
too  busy  to  make  purchases  of  candy  even  had  their 
packs  not  been  too  full  to  allow  of  additional  loads. 

The  men  became  interested  in  learning  about  the 
many  camps  which  comprised  St.  Nazaire,  and 
learned  that  it  was  divided  into  nine  separate  units, 
each  unit  having  a  specific  use.  Numbered  in  suc- 
cession from  1  to  9,  the  more  important  ones  in  re- 


St.  Nazaire  185 

gard  to  the  embarkation  of  the  troops  were  No.  1, 
the  Embarkation  Camp;  No.  2,  the  Reception  Camp; 
and  No.  4,  the  Negro  Labor  Battalion.  Camp  No.  8 
was  used  for  the  purpose  of  assembling  automobiles 
for  shipment  to  the  front  and  as  an  automobile  re- 
pair shop  for  the  A.  E.  F.,  and  was  the  largest  au- 
tomobile plant  in  the  world,  as  many  as  60,000  cars 
having  been  parked  in  its  automobile  yard  at  one 
time. 

Another  camp  which  can  rightfully  be  called  a 
part  of  Camp  St.  Nazaire  was  Camp  Montoir,  which 
was  used  as  a  discipline  camp,  where  all  troops  held 
for  disciplinary  action   were  placed;  this  camp   was 
usually   full.      Montoir   also   contained    diseased    per- 
sonnel,  who   were   not  allowed   to  return   home,   but 
w^ere  placed  in  pens  surrounded  by  barbed  wire  and 
not    allow^ed    to    even    talk    to    other    troops.       Some 
■very  pitiful  sights  were  seen  among  these  unfortu- 
nate people,  many  of  whom  were  husbands  with  wives 
and  children  at  home.     The  government  placed  these 
m.en   in   stockades   and   kept   them   there   until   they 
were  cured,  making  them  do  hard  manual  labor  in 
the  meantime,   or  if  found  to  be  incurable,   shipped 
them  home  and  placed  them  in  prisons,  never  to  have 
freedom  again.     In  this  manner  the  army  strove  to 
wipe  out  disease  or  to  at  least  make   it  impossible 
for  diseased  men  to   return  to  America  and  be   al- 
lowed the  opportunity  of  infecting  the  citizens  here. 
Camp  Montoir  also  contained  the  greatest  warehouses 
in  the  world,  these  warehouses  having  enough  food 
stowed  in  them  at  one  time  to  feed  the  A.  E.  F.  for 
60  days. 

Each  camp  had  one  or  two  mess  halls,  all  of 
which  were  about  the  same  size  and  conducted  on 
practically  the  same  plan.     The  men  were  admitted 


186 


Tiail  of  the  61st 


to  these  halls  through  long  sheds  which  accommo- 
dated a  column  of  troops  four  abreast,  and  which 
had  four  openings  to  the  main  hall,  through  which 
each  line  of  troops  could  pass;  adjacent  to  the 
openings,  and  so  constructed  as  to  form  passageways 
for   the   incoming   men,   were   serving   shelves   where 


The  last  hike  in  France.  Going  aboard  the  transport  that  was  to  'ake 
them  lionie.  This  was  one  formation  that  was  made  without  a  hitch  and  with 
much   pleasure. 


food  was  served  rapidly  to  the  four  lines  as  the 
men  came  through.  After  having  been  served,  the 
men  passed  on  to  the  tables  which  were  built  about 
waist  high  so  that  food  could  be  eaten  from  them 
with  ease  while  the  men  stood.  Exits,  similar  to  the 
entrances,  were  provided  at  convenient  points  in  the 
building  and  just  outside  of  these  exits  were  large 
troughs  of  hot  water  where  messkits  could  be  washed. 
The  giant  mess  halls  had  the   record  of  serving  an 


SL  Nazaire  187 

average  of  90  men  per  minute,  and  as  many  as  12,000 
were  known  to  have  passed  through  in  one  meal. 

The  Commanding  General  of  St.  Nazaire  was  the 
Commanding  General  of  Base  Section  No.  1,  and  his 
working  personnel  were  secured  by  assignment  from 
regular  units,  though  it  was  also  increased  materially 
from  time  to  time  by  home-going  troops  with  special 
qualifications.  None  of  the  latter  troops  were  kept, 
however,  without  their  voluntary  consent.  The  ca- 
pacity of  the  camp  was  20,000  troops,  but  at  times 
it  held  as  many  as  30,000.  In  size  it  was  the  second 
debarkation  camp  in  France,  having  had  as  many 
as  15,000  embark  from  it  in  one  week,  though  the 
normal  debarkation  capacity  was  considered  to  be 
6,000  per  week. 

In  all  inspections  that  were  made  of  Camp  St. 
Nazaire  by  general  officers,  including  that  of  General 
Pershing,  no  adverse  reports  were  made  against  it.  Up 
to  the  time  the  61st  passed  through  it  had  never 
been  attacked  by  an  epidemic  and  troops  quartered  in 
it  had  never  been  compelled  to  sleep  in''*pup"  tents, 
since  an  abundance  of  barracks  had  always  been 
available.  After  the  signing  of  the  armistice,  great 
numbers  of  soldiers  passed  through  the  camp,  but  its 
area  was  not  increased,  though  many  new  buiMings 
were  constructed,  as,  for  instance,  a  huge  entertain- 
ment and  lecture  hall  for  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  a  simi 
lar  building  for  the  Knights  of  Columbus.  At  tht* 
time  the  troops  from  the  61st  passed  through  thf> 
camp  a  mammoth  steel  building  for  play  purposes 
was  being  constructed  and  the  Salvation  Army  was 
building  a  tremendous  structure,  which  was  to  have 
a  capacity  sufficient  to  allow  the  serving  of  10,000 
doughnuts  and  cups  of  chocolate  per  day. 


188 


Trail  of  the  61st 


The  town  of  St.  Nazaire  is  very  old,  as  far  as  its 
construction  is  concerned,  but  it  is  comparatively 
nev^  commercially,  having  built  up  its  trade  after 
the  year  1817,  when  France  began  her  colonial  pol- 
icy. The  population  of  the  town  at  the  time  the 
61st  was  there  was  approximately  50,000,  which  ex- 
plains the  reason  why  troops  from  the  camps  were 
not  allowed  more  than  four  hour  passes  to  the  city 


j»»*«"*^**%. 


The  afterdeck  of  the  Aeolus,  showing  a   group  of   131st   men  engaged  in   a 
"little  friendly   game." 

The  harbor  of  St.  Nazaire,  though  ideal  in  many 
respects,  was  hindered  by  the  shallow  depth  of  its 
channel,  which,  formed  by  the  mouth  of  the  Loire 
river,  was  affected  by  the  sediment  from  the  stream 
as  it  was  carried  far  out  into  the  ocean.  Because  of 
this  condition,  ships  of  more  than  30,000  tons  dis- 
placement could  not  enter  the  harbor  and  ships  ac- 
commodating more  than  4,000  troops  did  not  come 
to  St.  Nazaire.     The  largest  American  ship  that  en- 


St.  Nazaire  189 

tered   the  harbor  during  the  war  was   probably   the 
"President  Grant." 

Troop  movements  to  the  ships  began  on  Febru- 
ary 25th,  when  the  131st  Regiment  went  aboard  the 
ship  Aeohis.  This  regiment  was  followed  on  Febru- 
ary 28th  by  Brigade  Headquarters,  which  embarked 
during  that  afternoon  on  the  converted  German 
cruiser  DeKalb.  The  hike  from  camp  to  the  ships 
was  made  with  very  little  difficulty,  since  the  road 
led  downhill  most  of  the  way  and  the  men  were  happy 
over  their  departure.  The  weather  was  quite  warm, 
however,  and  the  troops  suffered  slightly  from  the 
heat.  Upon  arriving  at  the  piers,  they  were  met  by 
Red  Cross  and  Y.  M.  C.  A.  workers,  who  served  them 
ice  cream  and  cake  and  furnished  substantial  amounts 
of  candy  and  cigarettes  for  use  after  they  went 
aboard  the  ships;  many  games  of  checkers  and  cards 
were  also  given  to  the  men  at  this  time  by  the  two 
organizations. 

The  two  above  mentioned  units  were  followed 
shortly  by  the  remainder  of  the  brigade,  and  all  of  the 
organization  left  St.  Nazaire  by  the  11th  of  March. 

Instead  of  sailing  promptly  from  the  harbor, 
the  ships  remained  at  St.  Nazaire  for  several  hours 
after  the  troops  had  gone  aboard,  in  some  instances 
remaining  anchored  for  as  much  as  two  days  before 
starting.  But  all  of  them  left  sooner  or  later  and 
as  the  prows  of  the  ships  faced  the  high  seas  the  men 
gleefully  turned  their  backs  on  France  and  thanked 
their  good  fortune  over  at  last  being  started  on  their 
trip  home. 


X. 

THE  VOYAGE  HOME 

The  departure  of  the  U.  S.  S.  Aelous  on  Febru- 
ary 27th  marked  the  beginning  of  the  homeward 
voyage  of  the  61st  Brigade,  the  131st  Regiment  being 
aboard  this  ship.  Brigade  headquarters  and  the 
111th  Trench  Mortar  Battery  sailed  from  St.  Nazaire 
February  28th,  on  the  U.  S.  S.  DeKalb;  the  first 
day  of  March  saw  the  third  unit  of  the  brigade  on 
the  high  seas,  as  the  111th  Ammunition  Train  sailed 
on  that  date  aboard  the  U.  S.  S.  Arcadia;  the  Ammu- 
nition Train  was  followed  by  the  133rd  regiment, 
which  sailed  from  France  on  the  U.  S.  S.  Rijndam, 
March  9th;  the  last  unit,  the  132nd  Regiment,  bade 
good-bye  to  French  soil  March  11th,  when  it  sailed 
away  from  St.  Nazaire  on  the  U.  S.  S.  Kroonland. 

The  troops  sailed  from  France  without  manifest- 
ing any  excitement  or  exhilaration,  since  they  had 
been  instructed  by  their  officers  to  make  no  demon- 
strations. Only  a  short  time  previous  to  their  de- 
parture a  unit  at  Brest,  after  having  gone  aboard 
its  ship  which  was  lying  in  the  harbor  awaiting 
sailing  orders,  had  boisterously  bid  farewell  to  France 
and  had  so  unnecessarily  criticised  the  French  people 
that  it  was  ordered  to  debark  from  its  ship  and  was 
assigned  to  camp  for  port  duty.  Men  of  the  61st 
had  no  desire  to  be  delayed  a  single  moment  longer 
than  necessary  in  their  departure  and  were  careful 
not  to  make  any  noises  or  to  say  anything  that  couH 
detain  them.  Many  of  them,  however,  swore  softly 
under  their  breaths  and  anathematized  France  and 
her  people  to  their  heart's  content.     While  they  could 

(190) 


The  Voyage  Home  191 

not  have  the  satisfaction  of  voicing  their  feeling? 
aloud  they  did  derive  considerable  pleasure  from  get- 
ting these   remarks   out  of  their  systems. 

It  is  a  deplorable  fact  that  the  American  soldiers 
returned  to  America  with  unkind  feelings  tov^ard 
the  French,  for  such  an  attitude  does  serious  injustice 
to  these  people.    It  is  true  that  the  French  have  many 


The  liner  on  which  the  132d  Regiment  sailed  from  St.  Nazaire  to  Newport 
News.  The  Kroonland  was  probably  the  best  vessel  on  which  any  units  of  the 
brigade  returned  to  America. 

characteristics  that  are  anything  but  commendable: 
they  drink  wine;  they  appear  to  be  unmoral;  they 
seem  unattractive  physically  and  mentally;  and  the 
average  American  feels  that  he  was  "held  up"  by 
them.  But  all  of  these  things  are  only  superficial, 
and,  though  existing,  should  not  be  accepted  as  a 
basis  on  which  to  form  a  final  opinion  of  any  people. 
Nb  race  producing  such  great  personalities  as -Joan 
de  Arc,  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  Victor  Hugo,  Louis  XIV 
and  hundreds  of  others  of  equal  renown,  can  right- 
fully be  subjected  to  absolute  contempt  and  disdain. 


192 


Trail  of  the  61st 


No  nation  that  has  been  able  to  create  such  a  nation- 
alism and  love  for  country,  that  can  fight  with  such 
persistence  and  brilliancy  as  the  troops  of  France, 
can  be  truthfully  said  to  other  than  great. 

Most  of  the  men  were  guided  in  their  opinion 
of  the  French  by  the  type  of  men  and  women  whom 
they  saw  in  and  around  the  camps,  though  it  is   a 


The  U.  S.  S.  De  Kalb,  though  a  converted  German  cruiser,  proved  to  he  a 
satisfactory  transport  to  the  soldiers  of  Brigade  Headquarters  and  the  111th 
Trench  Mortar  Battery.  These  two  organizations  were  on  the  De  Kalb  fourteen 
days  on  their  homeward  voyage. 

well  known  fact  that  the  majority  of  such  hangers-on 
are  never  representative  of  the  highest  type  of  citi- 
zenship. Moreover,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
American  soldier  judged  the  French  solely  by  Ameri- 
can standards  and  this  was  unjust  because  of  the 
radical  difference  in  national  customs  of  the  two 
peoples.  To  illustrate:  The  soldiers  thought  that 
the  free  speech  and  intimate  relations  of  the  French 
women  with  the  men  were  indications  of  the  lowest 
type  of  morality — and  viewed  from  American  stand- 


The   Voyage  Home  193 

ards  they  were  justified  in  this  belief.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  French  people  were  convinced  that  our 
American  women, — Y.  M.  C.  A.  workers,  Red  Cross 
nurses  and  other  American  girls  in  France — who 
made  a  practice  of  attending  social  functions  with 
men,  unchaperoned  while  going  to  and  from  places 
with  them,  were  immoral — and  judging  from  French 


■A 


The  U.   S.   S.   Arcadia,  on   which  the   111th  Ammunition  Train  returned  to 
America.    The  Arcadia,  was  one  of  the  smaller  ships  of  the  U.  S.  transport  service. 

standards  they  were  right.  Thus  it  will  be  seen 
that  errors  in  judgment,  caused  by  ignorance,  were 
common  to  both  the  French  and  the  Americans  and 
that  lack  of  appreciation  for  each  other  resulted. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  any  man  who 
visited  Paris  with  a  mind  open  to  truth  and  a  desire 
to  become  acquainted  with  the  great  French  capital, 
could  return  to  America  saying  that  the  French  peo- 
ple were  unmodern,  disreputable  and  absolutely  no 
good.  No  nation  in  the  world  has  produced  a  more 
wonderful  city  than  Paris  and  no  city  in  the  world 


194  Trail  of  the  6Ut 

has  a  finer  type  of  representative  business  men  in  it 
than  Paris.  For  attractiveness,  historic  interest  and 
even  modernity,  Paris  is  unsurpassed;  she  has  beau- 
tiful streets,  highly  attractive  buildings  and  an  air 
of  refinement  and  quality  about  her  that  is  satisfy- 
ing to  an  unusual  degree. 

The  ships  sailed  slov^ly  w^estw^ard  from  St.  Na- 
zaire  until  they  cleared  the  mouth  of  the  Loire  river, 
after  v^hich  they  turned  dov^n  the  coast,  and  remained 
in  sight  of  land  for  tv^o  or  three  hours,  w^hen  they 
put  out  to  high  seas,  homevv^ard  bound.  The  men 
thronged  the  decks  and  hung  over  the  rails  to  catch 
a  last  view  of  the  land  in  v^hich  they  had  passed  eight 
months,  and  as  they  saw^  France  passing  rapidly  from 
view  firmly  resolved  that  unless  it  became  absolutely 
necessary  in  the  future  they  would  never  return  to 
"frogland." 

As  the  ships  plied  their  way  over  the  blue,  rol- 
licking waves,  the  men  were  reminded  of  that  otht-r 
voyage  they  had  taken  eight  months  before,  and 
those  who  had  experienced  severe  attacks  of  sea- 
sickness imagined  they  could  "feel  themselves  slip- 
ping." But  this  was  only  imagination  on  their  part, 
for  the  first  few  hours  out  were  spent  in  calm  waters 
and  not  a  man  had  reason  to  become  seasick. 

One  of  the  first  duties  required  of  the  soldiers 
after  the  ships  got  under  way  was  attendance  at 
boat  drill.  They  were  assembled  on  the  decks  to 
which  they  had  been  assigned,  and  were  instructed 
by  naval  officers  regarding  the  nature  of  the  ships 
and  the  regulations  that  governed  them.  Immediately 
after  this  preliminary  drill  they  were  ordered  to 
their  quarters  to  stand  physical  examination.  They 
quickly   arrived   at   their   bunks   and    stripped   them- 


The  Voyage  Home 


195 


selves  of  clothing  after  which  they  filed  past  a  line 
of  medical  officers,  who  after  an  examination,  sent 
them  scurrying  with  towels  and  soap,  to  cold  salt- 
water shower  baths. 

The  men  remembered  their  previous  experiences 
with    salt    water    and    refused    to    bother    about    the 


U.  S.  S.  Rijndam,  the  ship  that  brought  the  133d  Regiment  home  from  France. 
"The  rickity  old  Rijndam  wasn't  a  very  fast  vessel.  The  best  sho  hnd  ever 
done  in  crossing  the  Atlantic  was  thirteen  days.  But  her  skipper  was  confident 
that  she  could  do  better  and  so  he  wagered  that  she  would  limp  into  Newport 
News  ahead  of  the  trim-rigged  Matoika,  a  larger  and  speedier  transport.  Both 
Fessels  left  the  harbor  within  an  hour  of  each  'itlier,  the  Uijnfl;i'n  going  to  sea, 
first.  Bulletins  were  posted  each  day  showing  the  progress  of  the  two  vessels 
and  when  it  appeared,  three  days  out  from  the  American  port,  that  the  Princess 
was  gaining  fust,  men  fioni  the  13od  went  to  the  boiler  rooiiis  as  stokers. 
Their  sta.mina  won  the  race — the  Rijndam  reached  port  two  hours  ahead  of  the 
Princess,  breaking  her  service  record  by  rea.ching  Gods  country  two  days 
sooner  than  she  had  ever  done  on  any  previous  occasion." — Kent  Watson,  in 
"History  of  the  133d  Regiment." 


baths,  except  to  camouflage  sufficiently  to  "get  by" 
the  officers,  who  were  easily  deceived  by  tousled  hair 
and  dampened  faces.  Much  grumbling  resulted  from 
the  bathing  order,  for  the  ships  w^ere  not  prepared  for 
this  sort  of  thing,  and  bathing  facilities  were  both 
inadequate  and  antiquated.     Moreover,  the  men  were 


196  Trail,  of  the  61st 

so  congested  in  their  quarters  that  they  were  unable 
to  dress  and  undress  without  great  inconvenience. 

After  the  ships  had  been  at  sea  four  or  five  hours 
the  waves  became  slightly  boisterous,  and,  as  most  of 
the  ships  were  small,  men  became  seasick.  Not  many 
of  them  ''fed  the  fishes,"  however,  but  a  considerable 
number  refused  to  eat  anything  for  a  meal  or  two. 

A  noticeable  feature  of  the  voyage  home  was  the 
small  amount  of  sickness  in  evidence;  the  men  ap- 
parently had  learned  how  to  combat  this  sensation.  Of 
course,  there  were  some  who  gave  up  before  they 
started  on  the  voyage  and  these  individuals  remained 
sick  practically  during  the  entire  trip.  While  their 
sickness  was  hard  on  them  they  received  very  little 
sympathy  from  their  comrades  who  could  not  appreci- 
ate the  easy  manner  in  which  they  surrendered  to  their 
feelings. 

At  about  two  hundred  miles  from  shore  the  wind 
began  to  rise  and  wathin  a  short  time  reached  a  gale 
of  about  forty  or  fifty  miles  an  hour,  the  waves  be- 
coming sufficiently  high  to  wash  over  the  upper  decks 
cf  the  ships  and  wet  many  surprised  soldiers.  It  took 
only  a  short  time  for  the  rough  waters  to  have  their 
affect  upon  the  men  and  practically  everybody  aboard 
ship  became  seasick ;  many  went  below  to  their  bunks 
and  the  lower  decks  soon  became  practically  unin- 
habitable. The  "spell"  was  the  worst  one  during  the 
voyage  but  it  did  not  last  long. 

The  food  served  on  the  homeward  voyage  was  very 
good,  fresh  fruit  and  scrambled  eggs  being  common  for 
breakfast  while  good  meat  and  vegetables  were  served 
in  substantial  quantities  at  other  meals.  It  seemed 
-that  the  ship  authorities  had  learned  of  the  dissatis- 
faction which  the  soldiers  felt  over  the  food  served  to 


The  Voyage  Home 


197 


them  during  the  voyage  to  France,  for  they  personally 
supervised  the  cooking  and  serving  of  food  on  this 
voyage.  One  noticeable  change  in  the  plan  used  in 
serving  the  soldiers  was  that  they  were  allowed  to 
receive  their  food  and  go  up  on  deck  to  eat  it  in  the 
open  air  instead  of  being  cooped  up  in  hot,  evil-smelling 
mess  halls.  There  was  considerable  delay  in  getting  all 
of  the  troops  served,  since  the  men  were  lined  up  on 


Life  on  board  ship  caused  the  men  to  revert  to  the  primitive  and  tliey 
rolle'd  together  on  decks  in  piles,  packing  the  available  sunny  spaces  on  tlae 
ship   as  tightly  as  they   could  squeeze  together. 

deck  and  marched  past  the  serving  rooms,  but  this 
could  not  be  avoided  as  the  troops  could  be  fed  only  as 
fast  as  facilities  would  permit.  Occasionally  the  cooks 
failed  to  prepare  enough  food  for  all  on  board  and  sol- 
diers who  were  last  in  line  failed  to  receive  a  full  share 
of  food,  but  these  little  inconveniences  were  insignifi- 
cant in  comparison  with  the  satisfactory  manner  in 
general  in  which  the  troops  were  fed. 


198  Trial  of  the  61st 

Each  Saturday  the  ships  were  inspected  by  their 
captains,  the  previous  day  having  been  spent  by  the 
sailors  in  washing  everything  aboard  ship,  and  if  the 
sailors  left  a  single  thing,  aside  from  the  soldiers 
themselves,  unscrubbed,  the  men  were  unable  to  see 
it.  The  thorough  manner  in  which  the  sailors  went 
over  the  ships  was  a  great  surprise  to  the  soldiers, 
who  had  supposed  that  military  inspections  were 
very  much  worse  than  naval  inspections.  But  the 
sailors  were  not  the  only  ones  who  were  inspected  by 
the  captains  of  the  ships,  for  the  soldiers  were  lined 
up  on  deck  and  were  also  personally  inspected. 
These  inspections  were  dreaded  by  the  men  for  they 
had  to  pass  the  scrutiny  of  both  their  own  army  offi- 
cers and  the  naval  officers,  and  the  sharp  eyes  of  the 
latter  seemingly  were  capable  of  ferreting  out  every 
speck  of  dirt  aboard  ship,  whether  on  the  men  or  else- 
where. 

Also,  quarters  were  inspected  by  naval  officers 
every  day,  and  special  details  of  soldiers  were  as- 
signed to  the  work  of  keeping  floors  swept,  bunks 
neatly  arranged  and  steps  leading  to  upper  decks 
washed.  Not  as  much  care  was  exercised  by  the 
soldiers  in  this  work  as  they  were  accustomed  to  give 
to  similar  work  in  camp,  but  in  general  each  deck 
was  kept  in  fairly  good  condition  until  Saturday 
inspections,  at  which  time  it  was  made  spick  and 
span  by  the  industrious  sailors. 

The  weather  became  warmer  after  the  ships 
had  been  out  of  port  three  or  four  days  and  the  men 
knew  by  the  great  quantities  of  seaweed  the  ships 
passed  that  they  had  entered  the  Gulf  Stream.  For 
several  hours  after  they  entered  this  stream,  they  en- 
joyed the  balmy  air  and  the  bright  sunshine,  which 


The  Voyage  Home  199 

reminded  them  so  much  of  their  southern  climate  and 
which  was  doubly  appreciated  because  of  the  many- 
months  they  had  been  deprived  of  it  while  in  France. 
They  enjoyed  themselves  heartily  and  were  content 
to  lie  on  deck  day-dreaming,  thanking  their  lucky  stars 
that  they  were  drawing  nearer  and  nearer  home. 


After  ha.ving  been  on  the  water  for  a  few  days  nothing  looked  so  good  to 
the  tired  soldiers  as  land,  and  this  picture  shows  a  number  of  men  from  the 
131st  catching  their  first  view  of  the  Azores  Islands  on  the  home  voyage.  Ine 
low  rocky  coast  of  the  Azores  seemed  to  be  just  about  the  best  looking  hind  they 
had  seen  since  leaving  America,  though  they  did  not  evince  a  desire  to  stop  there 
for  more  than  a  few  hours,  as  home  was  the  only  thing  that  really  interested 
them. 

But  this  enjoyable  condition  of  affairs  was  rudely 
changed  by  a  storm  which  bore  down  upon  the  ships 
with  great  intensity.  The  wind  blew  a  gale  of  seventy 
miles  an  hour  and  the  surface  of  the  ocean  was  lashed 
into  fury,  giant  waves  apparently  attempting  to  swal- 
low the  ships  in  their  great  hollows.  The  vessel^ 
were  tossed  about  as  if  made  of  egg  shells  instead  of 
heavy  iron,   and  though   often   appearing  doomed  to 


200  Trail  of  the  61st 

be  submerged  by  the  angry  waters,  they  always  man- 
aged to  ride  the  waves  in  a  right  royal  fashion.  The 
surging,  rolling  waves  fascinated  the  soldiers,  who 
clung  to  parts  of  the  decks  and  watched  the  movement 
of  the  water  as  it  was  whipped  about  by  the  strong 
winds.  They  saw  their  ships  dip  into  the  troughs  of 
the  ocean  until  the  crests  of  many  waves  about  them 
easily  were  100  feet  above  the  decks  and  it  seemed  al- 
most impossible  for  the  ships  to  successfully  climb  the 
great  waves ;  but  even  while  they  were  fearing  they  saw 
the  waves  fade  from  view  and  the  ships  rise  to 
start  down  again  into  other  billows.  During  the  period 
of  the  storm  a  speed  of  only  eight  knots  per  hour  was 
made,  and  the  ships  were  blown  considerably  off  their 
course. 

The  131st  Regiment  experienced  a  novel  treat  in 
stopping  three  days  at  the  Azores  Islands,  where  a 
number  of  officers  went  ashore.  Several  of  these 
officers  reported  a  lively  time  while  on  land,  for 
they  were  unfortunately  caught  in  a  street  fight  be- 
tween the  natives  and  American  soldiers.  They  were 
compelled  to  use  rocks,  brickbats  and  other  imple- 
ments of  warfare  they  could  find  lying  at  hand  in 
order  to  make  a  "safe  getaway."  They  said  that  the 
castilian-speaking  inhabitants  of  the  Azores  were 
quite  attractive  until  aroused  but  then  were  veritable 
devils,  even  surpassing  in  viciousness  the  subtle 
Mexicans  on  the  border. 

During  the  home  voyage  the  men  were  allowed 

entire  freedom  of  the  ships,  their  desire  to  learn 
more  about  these  great  ocean-going  vessels  leading 
many  of  them  into  the  engine  rooms,  through  the 
officers'  quarters,  into  the  giant  refrigerators  where 
food  was  kept,  up  into  the  birds'  nests,  and,  in  fact, 
all  over  the  ships  from  top  to  bottom.     They  learned 


The  Voyage  Home 


201 


just  how  the  food  was  cooked  in  great  steam  boilers, 
and  became  intimate  with  the  wonderful  machinery 
which  was  emboweled  in  the  hold  of  the  ships.  They, 
found  their  way  to  the  bakeries,  where  occasionally 
good-natured  cooks  slipped  them  bits  of  hot  cakes  and 
pies;  sometimes  when  their  nerves  were  equal  to  the 
strain,   they   stole    into   the   kitchen   where   food    for 


The  first  view  of  the  Azores  Islands  by  the  131st  on  their  homeward  voyage. 
The  low  rock  coast  line  looked  good  to  the  tired  soldiers,  since  they  had)  been 
on  the  water  for  several   days. 


the  officers  was  being  cooked,  and,  if  they  found 
the  fat,  round-faced  negro  chef  in  a  reasonable  mood, 
they  parted  from  a  liberal  su'm  of  money  and  were 
rewarded  with  a  feast  fit  for  the  gods.  These  visits 
to  the  bakeries  and  kitchens  were  usually  made  under 
cover  of  darkness  as  none  of  the  men  had  a  desire  to 
make  themselves  conspicuous  by  their  enterprise; 
moreover,  it  seemed  that  the  "best  fellows"  were  on 
duty  at  night. 


202  Trail  of  the  61st 

Much  time  was  spent  in  reading,  especially  as 
the  men  became  tired  of  the  voyage  and  wished  to 
^do  something  to  occupy  their  time  and  interest.  Books 
in  p'enty  were  furnished  by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  secre- 
taries and  ship  chaplains  and  volumes  usually  were 
distributed  at  random  to  all  who  cared  to  use  them. 
It  became  a  customary  sight  to  see  men  sprawled 
at  various  places  on  the  upper  decks,  with  books  in 
hands  deeply  interested  in  stories,  for  practically  the 
only  books  that  were  read  were  novels,  very  few  other 
books  being  available  in  the  lists  supplied  by  the  war 
workers. 

The  chaplains  rendered  another  service  by  dis- 
tributing candy  freely  among  the  soldiers.  The 
"preachers"  seemed  to  hugely  enjoy  seeing  the  men 
surge  about  them  during  candy  distributing  times, 
since  the  usual  plan  of  distribution  was  for  each  chap- 
lain to  hold  a  gallon  box  or  two  of  candy  be- 
fore him  and  allow  the  soldiers  to  good-naturedly 
fight  among  themselves  for  the  contents.  Occasion- 
ally some  greedy  fellow  reached  into  a  box  and  filled 
his  hand  so  full  that  he  was  unable  to  draw  his  bulg- 
ing fist  through  the  small  opening  without  losing 
a  part  of  the  candy  he  had  gathered.  This  usually 
resulted  in  such  a  look  of  pain  and  reproach  passing 
over  his  face  that  the  crowed,  while  thump^ing  his 
back  vigorously,  roared  with  laughter  and  ultimately 
compelled  him  to  be  satisfied  with  only  two  or  three 
small  pieces  of  candy. 

Most  of  the  ships  on  which  the  soldiers  of  the 
61st  returned  had  either  been  captured  from  the  Ger- 
mans or  had  been  made  famous  by  the  part  they  had 
played  in  the  war.  A  description  of  one  of  these 
ships,  the  DeKalb,  which  transported  brigade  head- 
quarters home,  will  suffice  as  an  example. 


The  Voyage  Home  203 

The  U.  S.  S.  DeKalb  was  a  converted  German 
cruiser,  built  in  1904  for  service  betv^een  Germany 
and  China,  and  named  the  Prince  Eitel  Frederick. 
She  was  used  in  oriental  service  until  1914  when  war 
was  declared,  then  was  equipped  with  guns  and  placed 
on  the  Atlantic  ocean  as  a  raider,  being  termed  a  Ger- 
man auxiliary  cruiser,  and  carrying  a  crew  of  13  offi- 
cers and  356  men.  She  was  equipped  with  three  8- 
inch  guns,  two  6-pounders  and  14  machine  guns,  be- 
sides torpedo  launching  equipment. 

Between  August  5,  1914,  and  March  10,  1915, 
she  cruised  30,000  miles  without  returning  to  her 
home  port.  While  on  this  cruise  she  sank  eleven  al- 
lied vessels,  which  had  a  total  tonnage  of  more  than 
26,000  tons.  She  was  driven  into  port  at  Norfolk, 
Virginia,  by  two  enemy  battle  cruisers,  one  British 
and  the  other  French,  and  was  ordered  by  the  United 
States  to  leave  American  ports.  She  failed  to  comply 
with  the  order  and  was  seized  and  held  as  a  prisoner 
of  war  until  the  entry  of  the  U.  S.  into  the  European 
war,  when  her  German  crew  was  removed  and  an 
American  one  substituted  therefor. 

She  was  immediately  given  a  general  rehauling 
in  preparation  for  transport  service  and  was  placed 
on  the  sea  to  carry  troops  to  Europe.  At  the  time 
she  was  transporting  home  the  troops  of  the  61st 
she  was  concluding  her  fifteenth  round-trip  voyage 
across  the  Atlantic,  as  an  American  transport.  While 
in  the  service  of  the  U.  S.  navy  she  experienced  no 
excitement  from  submarines  or  German  naval  craft, 
the  only  experience  that  even  approached  excitement 
having  occurred  on  her  fourteenth  voyage,  when  she 
sank  a  German  mine  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  after  hav- 
ing been  compelled  to  fire  on  it  for  more  than  three 
hours. 


204  Trail  of  the  61st 

Under  American  control  she  had  a  crew  of  547 
men  and  90  officers,  and  though  she  was  known  to 
have  had  an  average  speed  of  22  or  23  knots  per  hour 
while  in  German  hands,  the  fastest  rate  of  speed 
her  American  crew  was  able  to  develop  from  her 
German    machinery    was    16    knots    per    hour.      She 


The  town  of  Horta,  Azoi'es  Islajids.  The  Battleship  Xew  Jersey  is  shown 
lying  out  in  the  harbor.  Horta  is  the  town  in  which  men  from  the  131st  had 
some  trouble  and  were  forced  to  fight  their  way  back  to  their  boats. 

carried  16  American  guns,  which  with  the  exception 
of  two,  were  located  just  where  her  German  guns 
had  been. 

Two  or  three  days  before  reaching  land  the  men 
were  greeted  by  sea  gulls  which  came  out  in  great 
quantities  to  meet  the  incoming  ships  and  to  feed  on 
the  refuse  that  was  thrown  overboard.  These  croak- 
ing birds  were  welcomed  enthusiastically,  as  they 
brought  the  realization  that  the  ships  were  rapidly 
approaching  American  waters.  The  voyage  had  been 
quite  pleasant  and  the  men  had  been  well  treated  and 


The  Voyage  Home  205 

entertained,  but  they  were  eager  to  get  to  America 
and  be  mustered  out  of  service. 

The  first  ship  to  arrive  at  Niewport  News  was 
the  DeKalb,  which  arrived  on  the  12th  of  March. 
The  second  ship  to  reach  harbor  was  the  Aelous, 
which  anchored  at  her  pier  March  13th.  The  Arca- 
dia docked  March  17th ;  and  she  was  followed  by  the 
Eijndam,  which  arrived  the  20th  of  March.  The  last 
ship  to  reach  Newport  News  was  the  Kroonland, 
which  dropped  anchor  at  her  pier  on  March  24th. 
Thus  eight  months  after  leaving  American  shores 
troops  of  the  61st  Brigade  returned  to  their  native 
land,  so  happy  over  their  home  coming  that  even  the 
dirtiest,  dingiest  little  shack  in  the  town  of  Newport 
News  looked  better  to  them  than  the  finest  chateau 
they  had  seen  in  France. 

The  debarking  troops  were  met  at  the  piers 
by  the  ever  helpful  Red  Cross  women  who  served 
real  American  chocolates,  high  grade  cigarettes,  chew- 
ing gum  and  cakes.  As  the  men  marched  from  the 
piers  to  the  streets  and  prepared  for  their  hike  to 
camp,  they  were  greeted  by  a  number  of  army  trucks 
which  were  driven  by  American  girls  who  seemed 
to  the  admiring  eyes  of  the  pleased  soldiers  to  be  just 
about  as  attractive  as  it  was  possible  for  girls  to 
be.  Then,  too,  the  men  were  delighted  on  all  sides 
by  ''good  old  American  talk." 

As  the  troops  swung  along  on  their  march  to 
Camp  Stewart  they  received  cheers  from  the  citizens 
of  Newport  News  and  to  their  pleased  ears  these 
cheers  seemed  unusually  hearty.  They  were  so  elated 
over  being  again  on  home  soil  that  everything  and 
everybody  pleased  them.  They  had  never  before  real- 
ized  what   an   attractive   country  the   United   States 


206 


Trail  of  the  61st 


was  nor  how  priviliged  they  were  to  be  Americans. 
In  marked  contrast  to  all  their  previous  experiences, 
they  found  everything  to  their  taste — the  streets  were 
fine,  the  march  easy  to  make,  and  the  camp  quite  sat- 
isfactory when  they  saw  it. 

Immediately  after  arriving  at  Camp  Stewart, 
they  became  established  in  their  quarters,  which  were 
commodious,  well  ventilated  wooden  barracks  and 
they  quickly  ridded  themselves  of  their  packs  and 
proceeded  to  make  themselves  at  home,  a  faculty  they 
acquired  from  their  many  moving  experiences  in  the 
army. 


Lined  up  for  the  hike  to  the  boat  at  St.   Nazaire. 


XI. 

DEMOBILIZATION 

Camp  Stewart  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  at- 
tractive camps  in  which  the  61st  Brigade  had  been 
stationed.  It  lay  on  the  shores  of  Chesapeake  Bay, 
where  the  sea  breezes  swept  freely  over  it  and  stretched 
over  two  or  three  miles  of  level  sandy  soil.  It  was 
equipped  with  modern,  substantial  barracks,  which 
made  it  both  attractive  and  comfortable.  Its  streets 
were  paved,  the  pleasure  huts  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and 
other  war  organizations  were  commodious  and  the 
Liberty  theaters  were  huge,  airy  buildings,  con- 
structed to  accommodate  large  numbers  of  soldiers. 

After  the  men  had  made  such  preliminary  ad- 
justments as  were  necessary  in  becoming  established 
in  their  new  surroundings,  bedsacks  were  procured 
and  they  were  instructed  to  fill  them  with  hay  pro- 
vided for  that  purpose.  Iron  cots  of  modern  make 
were  secured  and  with  these  and  the  freshly  filled 
bedsacks  they  soon  arranged  comfortable  bunks. 
Packs  were  unrolled,  clothes  were  hung  neatly  along 
the  walls  and  the  barracks  were  made  to  have  the 
regular  appearance  of  military  homes. 

Instructions  were  now  given  to  the  soldiers  to  pre- 
pare themselves  for  delousing,  which  they  did  by  ar- 
ranging all  of  their  clothes  in  regulation  bundles  to  be 
carried  to  the  steaming  plants.  After  these  prelimin- 
aries they  were  hustled  to  the  delouser  and  put  through 
it  with  great  dispatch.  They  found  to  their  surprise 
that  the  delousing  plant  at  Stewart  was  greatly  su- 

(207) 


208 


Trail  of  the  61st 


perior  to  the  one  they  had  passed  through  at  St.  Na- 
zaire,  since  bathing  facilities  were  much  better  and 
the  clothes  were  subjected  to  much  higher  steam  pres- 
sure. Instead  of  being  a  disagreeable  task  such  as 
they  had  expected,  the  delousing  process  proved  to  be 
their    most    enjoyable    experience    since    leaving    St. 


Camp  Stewart,  Virginia,  where  the  greater  part  of  the  brigade  were  stationed 
after  debarking  from  their  homeward  voyage.  This  was  one  of  the  most  attra-ctive 
camps  in  America,  being  located  on  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  where  the 
clean,  sandy  ground  became  neither  very  dusty  nor  muddy.  The  dim  outlines 
of  ships  are  shown  lying  in   sailing  formation  in  the  harbor  at  Newport  News. 

Nazaire;  while  they  were  in  embarkation  camp  the 
only  bath  they  had  been  allowed  to  take  had  been  the 
two-minute  bath  which  they  were  given  at  the  delouser, 
but  here  they  were  allowed  to  spend  as  much  time 
under  the  showers  as  they  chose,  and  this  privilege 
was  appreciated  by  all.  Many  of  the  boys  spent  half 
an  hour  trying  to  remove  the  dirt  which  had  accumu- 
lated during  the  past  weeks  of  travel  and  when  this 
pleasurable  task  was  completed  they  left  the  delousing 
plant  feeling  greatly  improved.    They  marched  back  to 


Demobilization  209 

their  barracks  where  some  remained  in  bed  until  their 
uniforms  had  been  pressed  and  returned  to  them. 

After  having  been  deloused  the  soldiers  were 
given  freedom  of  the  camp,  and  large  numbers  of 
them  were  granted  passes  to  the  town  of  Newport 
News.  They  left  in  great  numbers  to  catch  street 
cars  which  ran  nearby,  and  were  carried  into  town, 
where  they  spent  some  time  and  money  in  becoming 
reacquainted  with  American  stores  and  shows.  They 
did  not  appreciate  Newport  News  in  the  least,  for 
it  is  one  of  the  dirtiest,  dingiest  old  towns  in  the 
United  States ;  during  the  war  so  many  soldiers  had 
been  encamped  near  the  town  that  the  business  people 
had  grown  entirely  indifferent  to  soldiers,  and  appar- 
ently only  tolerated  them  because  they  brought  in- 
creased trade  to  the  town.  Exorbitant  prices  prevailed 
in  all  businesses  and  no  opportunity  for  "holding  up" 
the  soldiers  was  overlooked.  It  took  only  a  trip 
or  tw^o  to  satisfy  the  men  that  Newport  News  was  no 
place  for  them,  and  that  the  amusements  afforded  in 
camp  were  much  cheaper  and  better. 

All  of  the  units  of  the  61st  brigade,  except  the 
133rd  Regiment,  which  was  quartered  at  Camp  Mor- 
rison, entered  Camp  Stewart  upon  debarking  from 
their  ships.  The  133rd  was  sent  to  Camp  Morrison 
because  Camp  Stewart  was  too  full  at  the  time  it 
arrived  to  accommodate  scny  more  troops. 

The  food  served  at  Newport  News  was  the  best 
the  men  had  seen  since  leaving  Camp  Bowie,  for 
mess  funds,  unused  while  in  France  because  of  mili- 
tary rules  prohibiting  the  use  thereof  while  over- 
seas, were  spent  freely  to  secure  an  abundance  of 
rich  supplies.  The  cooks  appreciated  their  responsi- 
bilities at  this  time  and  outdid  themselves  by  prepar- 


210 


Trail  of  the  61st 


ing  meals  that  would  have  reflected  credit  upon 
the  chefs  of  America's  leading  hotels.  They  produced 
cakes,  pies,  salads,  ice  cream  and  custards,  until 
the  soldiers  cried  ''enough."  This  was  one  place 
where   the    officers    preferred    to    eat    with    the    en- 


"'^^iitfe:**!!^: 


One  of  the  most  important  duties  of  tl:ie  troops  at  Camp  Stewart  was  that  of 
passing  "showdown"  inspections,  ajid  one  of  these  inspections  is  shown  here. 
Each  man's  equipment  was  placed  on  his  shelter  half  which  rested  on  the  ground, 
and  the  inspecting  officer  saw  to  it  that  every  man  was  properly  supplied  wiih 
new,  clean  uniforms  and  other  equipment.  The  'show-down"  at  Stewart  was  one 
of  the  easiest  inspections  of  the  war  and  the  men  romped  through  it  with 
astonishing  ease. 

listed  men  instead  of  having  their  separate  messes; 
not  all  of  them  did,  however,  but  such  as  didn't  eat 
with  the  men  wanted  to  do  so. 

Newport  News  had  four  camps  lying  adjacent 
to  it;  Camp  Stewart,  Camp  Morrison  and  Camp 
Alexander,  which  were  debarkation  camps,  and  Camp 
Hill,  which  was  a  casual  camp.  These  four  camps 
had  a  capacity  of  about  60,000  soldiers  and  at  the 
rate  of  speed  with  which  troops  returned  they  were 
constantly    filled    to    overflowing.      Camp    Morrison 


Demobilization  211 

had  been  built  for  the  occupancy  of  troops  of  the  air 
service  and  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  camps 
ip  the  United  States;  troops  were  indeed  fortunate  to 
be  stationed  there.  Camp  Alexander  was  not  so  at- 
tractive because  it  had  been  occupied  by  labor  troops 
before  being  converted  into  a  debarkation  camp. 
Camp  Hill  was  a  comfortable  place,  though  not  par- 
ticularly attractive  except  for  the  view  it  allowed  of 
the  Hudson  river. 

While  at  Newport  News  the  61st  Brigade  was  di- 
vided and  troops  from  states  other  than  Texas  were 
separated  from  their  organizations  and  sent  to  join 
casual  troops  scheduled  for  their  own  states.  Okla- 
homa troops  were  sent  to  Camp  Hill  and  from  there 
to  Camp  Pike,  Arkansas  for  demobilization.  Rather, 
that  was  true  of  all  Oklahoma  troops  except  the  111th 
Ammunition  Train,  which  was  sent  to  Camp  Bowie 
to  be  mustered  out. 

The  first  troops  of  the  61st  to  leave  debarkation 
camp  were  Texas  men  of  Brigade  Headquarters  and 
the  111th  Trench  Mortar  Battery,  who  entrained 
March  19th.  These  troops  were  followed  by  the 
131st  Regiment,  which  left  Camp  Stewart  on  March 
19th.  The  133rd  Regiment  was  entrained  and  started 
on  its  home  trip  by  the  evening  of  March  25th,  hav- 
ing been  preceded  three  days  before  that  time  by  the 
111th  Ammunition  Train. 

After  the  departure  of  the  133rd  the  132nd  Regi- 
ment was  the  only  unit  of  the  61st  that  was  left  in  the 
debarkation  camp  and  this  organization  left  for  Texas 
by  the  29th  of  the  month. 

All  of  the  troop  trains  went  to  Texas  over  the 
southern  route,  though  the  131st  dipped  farther  south 
than  any  of  the  others  and  traveled  by  way  of  New 


212  Trail  of  the  61st 

Orleans  to  Camp  Travis.  It  arrived  at  Camp  Travis 
March  24th,  where  it  was  met  by  thousands  of  San 
Antonio  citizens,  who  were  at  camp  to  extend  a  royal 
welcome  to  the  home-coming  boys.  These  loyal  citizens 
had  prepared  an  elegant  supper  in  one  of  the  barracks 
that  were  to  be  occupied  by  the  131st,  and  every  man 
in  the  organization  received  a  meal  here  that  surpassed 
in  excellency  even  the  splendid  meals  he  had  been  re- 
ceiving in  Camp  Stewart. 

The  111th  Ammunition  Train  followed  practical- 
ly the  same  route  as  that  by  which  they  had  gone 
from  Bowie  to  Mills,  except  that  they  deflected  at 
Little  Rock,  Ark.,  and  went  by  way  of  McAlester, 
Oklahoma,  where  they  were  met  by  the  townspeople 
and  served  to  a  municipal  dinner.  From  McAlester 
the  train  proceeded  to  Oklahoma  City,  where  a  night 
was  spent  and  practically  every  soldier  in  the  organi- 
zation was  entertained  by  some  family  in  the  city. 

On  the  following  day  the  organization  paraded 
in  Oklahoma  City  where  the  citizens  turned  out  en 
masse  to  see  the  homecoming  boys,  and  to  the  people 
who  had  remainea  at  home,  the  soldiers  of  the  Train 
seemed  especially  fine  and  stalwart,  their  tanned 
faces,  muscled  frames,  and  upright  bearing  proving 
that  the  long  period  spent  in  the  army  had  developed 
them  both  mentally  and  physically.  These  were  the 
first  Oklahoma  troops  to  pass  through  Oklahoma  City 
and  the  citizens  extended  splendid  welcome  to  them. 
Every  available  spot  on  the  sidewalks  was  occupied 
by  admiring,  cheering  home  folks,  w^ho  tried  in  every 
way  possible  to  make  the  boys  feel  how  proud  and 
glad  the  city  was  to  see  the  organization  safely  re- 
turned homo. 


Demobilization 


213 


The  preceding  evening  the  Train  had  been  enter- 
tained with  a  banquet,  and  the  men  yet  retained  a 
vivid  and  pleasant  memory  of  the  splendid  meal, 
where  everything  imaginable  in  the  way  of  good 
food  had  been  provided.  Though  they  had  been  re- 
ceiving good  food  since  arriving  at  Newport  News, 


Each  town  through  which  the  troops  passed  had  its  'Rf^d  Cross  women  and 
the  soldiers  quickly  learned  to  expect  "eats"  when  they  approached  these  places. 
The  boys  will  never  forget  the  great  debt  they  owe  to  the  Red  Crnsg,  both  on 
this  side  and  "over  there,"  for  the  great  work  done  by  that  organization. 
This  sna.pshot  was  caught  at  Mobile,  Alabanm,  and  shows  the  fellows  with  their 
cups  in  hand  waiting  for  the  coffee  can  to  come  along.  Some  of  tliem  liave 
sandwiches  and  seemingly  axe  pleased  over  the  manner  in  which  the  serving 
is  being  conducted. 

this  supper  surpassed  anything  they  had  seen  for 
months  and  each  man  did  full  duty  to  his  share  of 
''eats." 

Immediately  after  the  banquet  the  soldiers  were 
taken  to  picture  shows,  where  they  enjoyed  the 
playhouses  and  were  entertained  as  civilians. 
Only  the  soldier  who  has  been  through  the  grind  of 
army   life   can   appreciate  just   how^  these   men   felt 


214  Trail  of  the  61st 

when  they  realized  that  they  were  again  in  their 
home  city,  practically  free,  and  only  a  few  short 
days  removed  from  absolute  freedom.  The  visits 
to  their  homes,  or  to  hospitable  friends  made  them 
realize  more  poignantly  the  tremendous  difference 
between  soldier  life  and  civilian  life,  and  they  could 
scarcely  wait  for  the  time  when  they  would  receive 
their  discharge  papers  and  could  return  again  to 
free  lives. 

After  their  parade  in  Oklahoma  City  the  Am- 
munition Train  was  marched  to  its  cars,  which 
had  been  tracked  on  the  sidings  near  the  old  Frisco 
Station,  and  the  troops  entrained  for  the  last  lap  of 
their  journey  which  was  to  bring  them  to  their  start- 
ing point.  Camp  Bowie.  The  loading  was  done  with 
dispatch  and  without  any  lost  motion,  as  the  men  had 
become  thoroughly  experienced  by  this  time  in 
quickly  and  smoothly  boarding  cars.  As  the  trains 
slowly  pulled  away  from  the  siding,  the  departing 
troops  were  given  a  ringing  farewell  by  the  happy 
crowd  of  mothers,  sisters,  sweethearts,  wives,  broth- 
ers, fathers  and  friends  who  realized  that  the  de- 
parture of  the  troops  this  time  signified  nothing  more 
than  a  short  separation  and  not  the  heartbreaking 
goodby  which  had  taken  place  at  the  time  the  troops 
had  left  for  camp. 

The  first  stop  out  of  Oklahoma  City  was  at  El 
Reno,  where  the  troops  were  welcomed  heartily  by 
the  citizens  and  the  Red  Cross  ladies  served  the  boys 
to  the  customary  good  things  to  eat  and  drink,  while 
the  cheering  townspeople  demonstrated  their  approba- 
tion of  the  proceedings.  Similar  experiences  were  en- 
countered by  the  men  at  practically  every  station  they 


Demobilization  215 

passed  in  Oklahoma,  as  each  town  attempted  to  outdo 
its  neighbors  in  welcoming  the  men  home. 

The  train  arrived  in  Fort  Worth  at  about  11 
o'clock  at  night  and  the  troops  were  held  in  their 
coaches  until  morning,  when  they  were  detrained  and 
marched  to  camp.  Each  man  in  the  organization 
was  anxious  to  see  old  Camp  Bowie,  and  the  men 
made  merry  among  themselves  in  discussing  the  home- 
like appearance  of  the  camp  and  the  unchanged  con- 
dition of  everything.  Instead  of  being  relocated  in 
the  part  of  camp  where  they  had  spent  their  training 
period  they  were  marched  to  the  part  pre- 
viously occupied  by  the  infantry  of  the  36th  division. 
As  the  men  walked  along  the  road  through  camp  and 
saw  the  many  familiar  sights  they  recalled  many  ex- 
periences of  training  days,  and  though  many  of  those 
experiences  had  been  anything  but  pleasant  at  the 
time  of  their  occurrence,  they  afforded  great  merri- 
ment now  that  the  boys  could  look  back  laugh- 
ingly on  the  sorrows  and  troubles  of  old  Camp  Bowie 
days.  A  turn  in  the  road  here,  a  bypath  there,  and 
a  thousand  and  one  familiar  scenes  reminded  the  sol- 
diers of  the  many  months  they  had  spent  in  Bowie, 
and  it  was  surprising  how  quickly  they  felt  at  home 
and  how  easily  they  again  fell  into  the  ways  of  the 
camp. 

After  being  billeted,  they  were  immediately 
called  to  attention  by  camp  officers,  who  informed 
them  that  the  work  of  mustering  out  would  be  car- 
ried forward  with  dispatch  and  that  the  soldiers 
would,  in  all  nrobability,  be  away  from  camp  within 
three  or  four  days.  Especial  emphasis  was  laid  upon 
the  need  for  every  man  to  remain  in  and  about  camp 
where  he  could  be  reached  at  all  times,  as  it  was 
pointed  out  that  there  would  be  something  doing  prac- 


216  Trail  of  the  61st 

tically  every  minute  of  the  time,  and,  in  view  of 
the  great  numbers  of  troops  who  were  passing 
through  Camp  Bowie  to  be  demobilized,  disregard 
of  this  order  would  militate  against  the  quick  dis- 
charge of  any  man  guilty  of  disobeying  it.  The  men 
were  duly  impressed  with  these  instructions,  but 
during  the  months  they  had  been  in  the  service  they 
had  learned  to  accept  as  the  truth  only  a  certain 
percentage  of  what  they  heard  and  they  proceeded  to 
forget  the  greater  part  of  the  instructions,  and  left 
for  town  and  good  times  just  as  quickly  as  the  op- 
portunity presented.  Fort  Worth  had  never  looked 
half  as  good  to  them  before  as  it  did  now  and  they 
just  simply  couldn't  resist  the  temptation  to  see  the 
town  and  once  again  walk  its  crowded  streets  to  the 
hotels  and  picture  shows.  Good  money  separated 
from  good  soldiers  very  rapidly  at  this  time,  for  the 
men  ate  good  food  and  saw  shows  as  long  as  their 
money  lasted. 

Regardless  of  the  waywardness  of  the  more  ven- 
turesome spirits,  the  work  of  demobilization  proceeded 
rapidly  and  the  men  were  put  through  the  various 
required  activities  in  record  time.  In  fact,  most  of 
the  soldiers  found  themselves  so  busy  they  did  not 
have  time  to  run  around  much,  the  first  duties — that 
of  turning  in  equipment — proving  that  they  had  two 
or  three  days  of  strenuous  work  ahead  of  them  be- 
fore they  could  secure  their  freedom.  The  turning 
in  of  equipment  was  not  easy,  for  every  man 
had  to  see  that  his  material  was  in  first-class  condi- 
tion before  it  would  be  accepted  by  the  camp  au- 
thorities; guns  were  polished  and  cleaned  and  every 
little  speck  of  rust  and  dirt  was  removed  from  them; 
haversacks,  rifle  belts  and  similar  equipment  were 
scrubbed  until  all  signs  of  dirt  were  removed;  every- 


Demobilization  217 

thing  underwent  the  close  scrutiny  of  the  men  who 
saw  to  it  that  all  field  equipment  was  put  in  ship- 
shape condition. 

After  the  equipment  had  been  turned  in  and 
properly  checked,  the  men  were  subjected  to  rig- 
orous physical  examinations.  They  were  ushered 
into  offices  where  they  received  papers  containing 
full  information  about  them,  such  as  army  serial 
number,  rank,  etc.,  and  then  were  sent  into  examin- 
ing rooms  where  they  removed  their  clothes  and 
passed  before  long  lines  of  critical,  eagle-eyed  medi- 
cal officers,  who  seemed  more  anxious  to  find  de- 
fects or  diseases  among  the  men  than  not  to.  Re- 
gardless of  whether  or  not  a  man  felt  himself  to  be 
all  right,  entirely  sanitary  and  without  disease,  when 
he  entered  these  rooms  by  the  time  he  had  got- 
ten very  far  down  the  line  of  examining  officers 
he  felt  some  trepidation  about  being  able  to  pass 
through  safely.  And,  my  goodness,  what  an  examina- 
tion it  was !  If  there  was  anything  overlooked  neither 
the  men  nor  the  doctors  knew  it,  for  this  final 
examination  was  much  more  thorough  than  any  of  the 
physical  examinations  had  been  at  the  time  the  men 
were  taken  into  the  service.  Those  who  passed  through 
this  trying  ordeal  and  came  out  with  their  papers 
marked  *'0.  K."  were  ready  for  resumption  of  civil 
life,  for  they  knew  that  the  folks  at  home  had  little 
to  fear  from  them  in  the  way  of  disease. 

The  only  remaining  thing  for  them  to  do  was 
to  receive  their  discharges,  which  duty  they  per- 
formed to  perfection.  Pay  rolls  had  been  prepared 
and  signed  in  preparation  for  the  issuance  of  dis- 
charge papers,  and  as  each  man  filed  past  headquar- 
ters to  receive  his  discharge,  he  was  also  paid  his  last 
month's  wages,  a  sixty  dollar  bonus,  and  travel  pay 


218  Trail  of  the  61st 

to  the  point  where  he  was  scheduled  to  go.  The 
travel  pay  was  quickly  converted  into  tickets,  or  rath- 
er a  part  of  it  was — as  each  man  was  allowed  five 
cents  a  mile  from  the  camp  to  the  place  where  he 
had  enlisted  or  had  been  inducted  into  the  service — 
and  his  ticket  was  sold  to  him  at  a  cost  of  only  two 
cents  a  mile.  For  the  first  time  in  months,  the  men 
felt  themselves  '"loaded"  with  American  money,  as 
before  this  time  the  greatest  sum  in  the  possession 
of  any  soldier  had  been  one  month's  pay  or  less. 

The  experiences  of  the  Ammunition  Train,  while 
not  entirely  parallel  to  those  of  the  other  organiza- 
tions in  the  brigade,  were  practically  the  same  and 
can  be  accepted  as  representative  of  the  entire  brig- 
ade. Of  course,  each  organization  had  its  own  in- 
dividual experiences,  but  in  the  main  they  differed 
only  slightly  from  the  general  plan  of  demobiliza- 
tion, which  has  been  described.  At  any  rate,  by  the 
10th  of  April,  1919,  the  Sixty-First  Brigade  was  only  a 
memory,  as  all  units  of  that  organization  had  been  mus- 
tered out  and  the  men  returned  to  civilian  life. 

Though  each  man  was  hilariously  happy  over 
being  able  to  doff  his  uniform  for  ''cits,"  it  was  with 
a  feeling  akin  to  sorrow  that  he  turned  his  back  on 
army  life,  where  he  had  been  directed  in  his  efforts, 
where  the  responsibility  of  his  actions  had  rested 
upon  someone  else,  and  where  he  had  left  worry  to 
the  other  fellow.  He  dimly  realized  that  the  com- 
radeship and  close  associations  formed  in  the  service 
were  very  dear  to  him  and  were  likely  to  be  missed 
in  his  struggle  to  get  along  in  the  business  world. 
But  relief  from  the  bondage  under  which  he  had  been 
laboring  during  months  spent  in  the  army  was  so 
pleasing  to  him  that  such  dim  regrets  as  entered  his 
mind  at  this  time  did  not  seriously  affect  his  pleas- 


Demobilization  219 

ure.  He  said  to  himself  that  he  had  served  his  "hitch" 
and  was  satisfied  to  call  it  a  complete  piece  of  busi- 
ness, letting  the  other  fellow  ''re-up,"  while  he  turned 
his  attention  and  interest  to  again  finding  his  place 
in   peaceful   activities. 

It  was  a  fine  thing  to  see  the  faith  with  which 
the  soldiers  returned  to  their  homes  and  the  earnest 
manner  in  which  they  settled  themselves  to  play  the 
parts  of  men.  They  reasoned  that  since  they  had 
fought  for  America  and  American  ideals  their  coun- 
try must  be  glad  to  welcome  them  back  into  the 
business  world  where  they  would  be  given  full  op- 
portunities to  demonstrate  what  they  had  learned  and 
were  able  to  do.  Of  course,  a  large  number  of  the 
men  gave  themselves  over  for  several  weeks  to  visit- 
ing and  enjoying  themselves,  without  attempting  to 
get  settled  again  in  business,  but  by  far  the  greater 
number  immediately  secured  positions  and  began  the 
task  of  rebuilding  their  businesses  and  in  making  up 
for  lost  time.  These  realized  that  they  had  been  on 
more  of  a  vacation  than  had  the  folks  at  home  and 
that,  instead  of  visiting  and  wasting  their  time,  they 
needed  to  make  all  possible  speed  in  re-establishing 
themselves. 

Regardless  of  the  quickness  with  which  they  en- 
tered again  into  business  activities,  it  early  became 
evident  that  the  majority  of  the  soldiers  had  re- 
turned from  the  war  with  new  ideals  and  with  greatly 
increased  capacities.  They  were  older,  more  expe- 
rienced, better  educated  and  above  all,  broader  mind- 
ed than  upon  their  entry  into  camp.  Before  the  war 
many  of  them  had  never  been  outside  of  their  states, 
and  spme  of  them  had  not  been  outside  of  their  coun- 
ties, but  their  wonderful  experience  in  the  trip  to 
France  and  return  home,  had  so  broadened  their  vis- 


220  Trail  of  the  61st. 

ions  and  enlarged  the  horizon  of  their  lives  that  they 
had  developed  with  a  rapidity  surprising  even  to 
themselves.  Likewise,  the  comparison  of  America 
with  France  had  proved  that  the  one  spot  in  the 
universe  the  most  dear  and  pleasing  to  them,  was 
home — especially  the  home  in  the  United  States. 
Practically  all  of  them  had  idealized  Europe  and  the 
European  people  in  their  minds  before  the  war,  but 
after  having  seen  Europe  and  her  people  they  keenly 
realized  that  their  own  country  and  people  were  in- 
finitely superior  to  all  other  countries  and  peoples. 
In  other  words,  they  returned  home  satisfied — satis- 
fied with  their  country,  their  people  and  their  homes. 

Without  doubt  these  newly-made  men  were  at 
least  twenty-five  per  cent  more  efficient  upon  the 
day  they  were  mustered  out  of  the  army  than  upon 
the  day  they  w^ere  taken  into  the  army,  though,  of 
course,  this  was  not  true  of  all,  for  the  very  thing 
that  had  developed  a  majority  of  the  men,  served  to 
hinder  the  development  of  others.  Some  men,  instead 
of  developing  under  the  direction  and  supervision  of 
army  officers,  lost  all  of  their  initiative  and  person- 
ality by  reason  of  having  someone  always  at  hand 
to  do  their  thinking  for  them.  But  taken  as  a  whole, 
the  men  of  the  61st  Field  Artillery  Brigade  returned  to 
their  homes  better  Americans  and  better  citizens  than 
they  could  possibly  have  been  had  they  not  passed 
through  the  experiences  of  war.  They  were  repre- 
sentative of  the  average  American  soldiers  and  reas- 
sumed  the  duties  of  free-born  Americans  in  the  same 
loyal,  earnest  manner  that  had  been  so  noticeable  in 
their  response  to  the  needs  of  the  nation  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war. 


Demobilization  221 

And  thus  we  leave  them,  separated  into  differ- 
ent spheres,  but  settling  down  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of 
their  labors  during  the  two  years  they  were  in  the 
service  of  "Uncle  Sam." 


APPENDIX 

COMMANDING   OFFICERS  OF   THE   61ST   F.  A. 

BRIGADE. 

BRIGADIER  GENERAL  GEORGE  BLAKELEY. 

A  '-high-up"  iu  official  military  circles  at  Washington,  in 
si^eaking  of  General  Blakeley.  once  said:  "He  is  probably  the 
most  brilliant  artillery  officer  in  the  Southwest,  and  iwssibly  in 
the  United  States." 

To  those  who  knew  General  Blakeley  this  statement  rang  true, 
for  the  spare,  keen-eyed  commander  of  the  61st  F.  A.  Brigade  was 
the  incarnation  of  efficiency.  At  least,  so  it  seemed  to  the  officers 
of  his  own  brigade,  for  many  of  them  expressed  the  sentiment  sc 
forcibly  stated  by  one  of  their  number  who  said  "he  would  rather 
face  a  firing  squad  than  ))e  quizzed  Dy  (ie-neral  Blakely  on  his 
knowledge  of  artillery." 

The  General  was  a  quiet  man,  unassuming,  not  too  exacting  of 
his  men  insofar  as  form  and  courtesies  were  concerned,  but  relent- 
less and  immovable  in  his  demands  for  efficiency  in  their  artillery 
work.  He  established  schools  for  all  ranks  and  demanded  that  they 
be  attended :  he  personally  supervised  the  work  on  the  range ;  and 
he  kept  his  officers  "on  their  toes"  by  giving  them  individual  in- 
struction and  l)y  sending  i)ractically  all  of  them  to  Officers' 
Schools,  at  Fort  Sill  and  San  Antonio.  He  was  more  or  less  in- 
terested in  having  his  soldiers  know  how  to  do  Squads  Right  and 
Left,  but  he  demanded  that  they  know  artillery. 

This  attitude  of  mind  is  not  suprising  when  we  know  that 
General  Blakeley  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point  and  for  a  number 
of  years  was  an  instructor  of  mathematics  in  that  institution.  His 
ability  as  a  mathematician  was  recognized  throughout  the  nation, 
and  his  training  and  connection  with  the  great  military  school  at 
West  Point  had  fitted  him  admirably  for  the  task  of  making  artil- 
leryman out  of  green  material,  such  as  that  comprising  the  (Jlst 
Brigade  when  he  assumed  command  of  it.  It  is  safe  to  say  that 
the'  efficiency  that  the  Hist  Brigade  later  acquired  in  France  was 

(222) 


Appendix  223 

largely  duo  to  the  painstaking  effort  General  Blakeley  made  to 
train  the  men  while  they  were  at  Camp  Bowie. 

General  Blakeley  had  the  ability  of  picking  men,  and,  though  it 
was  a  surprise  to  his  brigade,  he  chose  his  Brigade  Adjutant  from 
another  branch  of  the  service.  He  scouted  around  among  the  other 
organizations  in  the  8fith  Division  until  he  found  Major  Wilton 
Rutan,  an  Infantry  officer,  and  regardless  of  the  fact  that  he  was 
only  twenty-three  years  of  age  and  had  no  artillery  training,  took 
him  to  Brigade  Headquarters  of  the  61st  and  placed  him  in  the 
position  of  Brigade  Adjutant.  That  the  General's  choice  was  a  wise 
one  was  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  everyone,  for  the  young  ma- 
jor proved  his  ability  and  worth  in  a  surprisingly  short  time. 

It  was  a  distinct  shock  to  the  61st  Brigade  when  General 
Blakeley  was  transferred  from  it  to  a  division  of  Coast  Artil- 
lery— that  is,  it  was  a  surprise  until  the  men  learned  that  their 
General  was  to  be  advanced  another  grade,  then  all  took  pride  in 
having  had  a  Commanding  Officer  of  such  capacity  that  he  should 
be  selected  for  advancement  and  placed  in  command  of  a  division 
that  was  to  leave  for  France.  The  w'hole  brigade  was  sorry  to  see 
him  leave,  but  felt  pride  over  his  progress. 

BRIGADIER  GENERAL  JOHN  E.  STEPHENS. 

General  Stephens  came  to  the  61st  from  the  regular  army, 
where  he  had  seen  years  of  service,  both  in  the  United  States  and 
abroad.  He  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point  and  was  considered  by 
the  War  Department  to  be  one  of  the  best  artillery  officers  in  the 
army.  His  rise  had  been  rapid,  for  at  the  time  he  joined  the 
brigade  he  was  a  comparatively  young  man.  and  it  was  pre- 
dicted by  many  who  knew  his  record  that  he  would  distinguish  him- 
self in  France. 

When  he  joined  the  brigade  at  Camp  Mills,  he  made  few 
changes  in  the  organization,  but  spent  most  of  his  time  in  becom- 
ing acquainted  with  his  officers  and  men.  His  first  changes  in  the 
brigade  were  made  on  board  ship,  as  the  brigade  "went  across," 
but  from  that  time  until  his  death  he  was  constantly  looking  about 
for  better  men  to  fill  the  places  of  responsibility  in  his  organiza- 
tion. After  the  brigade  arrived  in  France,  especially  after  reach- 
ing Coetquidan,  he  rearranged  the  greater  part  of  the  brigade  and 
organized  it  according  to  his  own  ideas. 

The  General  was  a  strict  disciplinarian  and  demanded  uncom- 
promising obedience  and  courtesy  from  his  officers  as  well  as  from 
his  enlisted  men.  He  was  always  kind  and  courteous,  but  was  also 
firm  and  commanding.  If  he  was  known  to  have  made  any  dis- 
crimination, whatsoever,  it  was  probably  in  favor  of  his  enlisted 
men,  for  he  had  a  "soft  spot''  in  his  heart  for  "the  boys."     He  was 


224  Trail  of  the  61st 

fatherly  and  interested  in  the  men  in  his  dignified  way,  and  no  man 
in  his  command  felt  that  he  was  other  than  fair.  He  was  strict 
and  punctilious  in  his  own  affairs  and  was  exacting  of  his  soldiers, 
where  their  efficiency  and  training  were  Involved.  Whenever  he 
passed  a  group  of  men  who  failed  to  properly  salute  him,  or  when 
he  learned  of  any  laxness  in  the  observance  of  military  regula- 
tions in  the  61st  he  always  made  a  point  of  correcting  these  mat- 
ters personally. 

Though  demanding  that  his  men  deport  themselves  always  as 
good  soldiers  and  that  they  be  alert  and  ready  for  duty  at  all 
times,  General  Stephens  appreciated  the  value  of  proper  entertain- 
ment for  his  men  and  was  therefore  untiring  in  his  efforts  for  se- 
curing leave  areas  and  resting  places  for  them.  Moreover,  after 
the  signing  of  the  armistice,  he  allowed  the  soldiers  of  the  61st 
to  visit  the  towns  surrounding  Camp  Coetquidan,  almost  as  freely 
as  they  chose. 

General  Stephens  constantly  visited  other  officers  in  the  A.  E. 
F.  before  the  signing  of  the  armistice,  to  learn  more  about  condi- 
tions and  to  keep  informed  about  developments  and  innovations  in 
his  branch  of  the  service.  His  automobile  driver  said  he  was  inde- 
fatigible  in  his  efforts  to  see  as  many  general  officers  as  he  could 
during  the  time  his  brigade  was  training  for  the  front,  and  this 
zeal  on  his  part  was  probably  instrumental  in  his  death,  for  the  ex- 
posure he  underwent  during  his  travels  was  great.  He  died  of 
lobar  pneumonia  in  Camp  ,le  Coetquidan. 

COLONEL  OTHO  FAKR. 

Colonel  Farr  came  to  the  61st  Brigade  after  the  death  of  Gen- 
eral Stephens.  He  was  assigned  to  command  the  brigade,  with 
orders  to  accompany  it  to  the  states,  and  assumed  command  on 
January  10,  1919. 

He  was  born  in  Maine  in  1871,  took  the  usual  schooling,  had 
one  year  in  college  and  was  then  sent  to  West  Point,  where  he 
graduated  in  189.3.  He  served  at  various  posts  throughout  the 
United  States  and  took  part  in  the  expedition  of  Santiago  troops  in 
1898. 

His  promotion  started  in  1899,  when  he  was  made  a  1st  lieu- 
tenant, and  continued  gradually  until  1917,  when  he  was  promoted 
to  the  grade  of  colonel. 

In  December  1917.  he  joined  and  assumed  command  of  the  lOtli 
F.  A.  which  he  accompanied  to  France,  arriving  May  12.  1918.  He 
commanded  the  regiment  through  the  Aisne-Marne  drive  in  July 
and  August  and  commanded  the  51st  F.  A.  Brigade  from  August  20th 


Apperidix  225 

to  November  28th,  during  which  time  that  brigade  took  part  in  the 
St.  Mihiel  defensive  in  September,  and  fought  north  of  Verdun 
in  October  and  November. 


REGIMENTAL  COMMANDERS  OF  THE  61ST  F. 

A.  BRIGADE. 

COLONEL  CLAUDE  V.  BIRKHEAD. 

Colonel  Claude  Vivian  Birkhead  was  born  May  27th.  1878,  in 
Phoenix.  Arizona.  He  attended  grade  school,  but  the  best  school- 
ing he  received  as  a  boy  was  his  exi)erience  as  a  newsboy.  He 
graduated  from  High  School  at  Waco,  Texas,  and  then  entered 
the  law  office  of  Henry  V.  Stribling,  to  study  law.  He  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar  on  November  10th,  1899.  and  practiced  law  in  Waco 
until  1904. 

From  Waco,  the  Colonel  moved  to  San  Antonio,  Texas,  where 
he  later  served  as  judge  of  the  73rd  District  Court  from  1910  to 
1912.  and  then  returned  to  the  practice  of  law  with  his  present 
firm  of  Taliaferro,  Cunningham  and  Birkhead  of  San  Antonio, 
Texas. 

Colonel  Birkhend  organized  Battery  "B."  2nd  Texns  F.  A.,  in 
June,  1916.  and  served  as  its  commander  until  June.  1917.  when  he 
was  authorized  to  raise  a  regiment  of  field  artillery,  the  "2nd 
Texas."  He  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Lt.  Colonel  on  July  20th, 
and  was  made  commander  of  his  newly  organized  regiment.  On 
August  4th  he  w^as  again  promoted,  to  the  rank  of  Colonel,  and  re- 
assigned as  commander  of  the  2nd  Texas  Field  Artillery. 

He  graduated  from  the  Civilian  Training  Camp  at  Camp 
Wilson.  San  Antonio,  which  he  attended  from  June  6th  to  July 
8th.  1916;  he  attended  Brigade  and  Field  Officers'  School  at  Ft. 
Sam  Houston  in  January.  1917 ;  he  was  a  student  at  the  Staff  and 
Field  Officers'  School,  Camp  Bowie,  and  War  Course  School  of 
Fire.  Ft.  Sill,  1918 :  and  graduated  from  the  School  of  Fire,  Coet- 
quidan,  France,  in  1918. 

The  131st  (2nd  Texas)  F.  A.,  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Birk- 
head from  August  5th,  1917,  to  April  2nd,  1919,  when  it  was  demo- 
bilized at  Camp  Travis,  San  Antonio.  Texas. 

Colonel  Birkhead  was  a  forceful,  vigorous  officer  who  main- 
tained strict  discipline  in  his  regiment  and  fearlessly  supported 
what  he  believed  to  be  right.  His  open  denunciation  of  the  man- 
agement of  Brest,  when  he  said  the  "officer  who  was  responsible 
for  the  frightful  conditions  at   Brest   should  be  court-martialed. 


226  Trail  of  the  61st 

regardless  of  whether  or  not  he  was  the  rankest  2nd  lieutenant 
or  the  Commanding  Officer  of  the  A.  E.  F.,"  is  representative  of 
his  demand  for  fair  treatment  and  justice. 

His  famous  slogan,  "First  in  Spite  of  Hell,"  became  widely 
known  throughout  the  brigade  and  in  the  A.  E.  F.  and  it  was 
freely  predicted  by  all  who  knew  him  that  if  he  had  been  given 
an  opportunity  at  the  front,  he  would  have  been  one  of  the  strong- 
est fighting  colonels  in  the  army.  His  men  respected  his  ability, 
but  feared  his  criticism  and  his  grip  over  the  131st  was  close  at 
all  times. 


COLONEL  ARTHUR  R.  SHOLARS. 

Colonel  Sholars  has  been  prominently  connected  with  the 
military  history  of  Texas  since  1898,  when  he  was  made  captain 
of  Company  "H,"  4th  U.  S.  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  saw  service 
with  it  in  the  Spanish-American  w^ar. 

In  1902  he  accepted  a  captaincy  in  the  3rd  Texas  Infantry 
and  served  with  the  3rd  until  1914.  He  was  on  the  border  in 
1916.  as  commander  of  the  3rd  Battalion,  3rd  Texas  Infantry. 

In  March,  1917,  he  was  called  back  into  Federal  Service,  and 
on  May  19th,  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  colonel.  When  the 
61st  F.  A.  Brigade  was  formed  in  September,  Colonel  Sholars  was 
placed  in  command  of  the  132nd  F.  A.  Regiment. 

During  his  service  with  the  Texas  National  Guard  Colonel 
Sholars  attended  all  officers'  schools  and  encampments;  and 
while  at  Camp  Bowie  he  was  sent  to  the  Artillery  School  of  Fire 
at  Fort  Sill  and  completed  the  course  there  December  20th,  1917. 
H©  was  then  sent  to  the  Field  Officers'  School  at  Fort  Sam  Hous- 
ton, Texas,  from  which  he  returned  February  1st,  1918. 

Colonel  Sholars  remained  in  command  of  the  132nd  F.  A. 
through  the  World  War,  from  Bowie  to  France  and  return  home. 
He  was  senior  colonel  in  the  61st  and  during  General  Blake- 
ley's  command  of  the  brigade,  was  left  in  command  of  the  bri- 
gade during  the  absence  of  the  General. 

Tall,  broad-shouldered,  with  black  hair  and  brown  eyes,  the 
colonel  is  a  quiet,  forceful  man.  who  at  no  time  while  in  com- 
mand of  the  132nd  regiment,  became  excited  or  lost  his  temper.  He 
was  firm,  but  courteous,  and  his  soldiers  obeyed  him  because  they 
trusted  and  respected  his  judgment. 

The  headquarters  of  Colonel  Sholars.  at  Camp  de  Coetquidan. 
was  always  accessible  to  anyone  who  had  business  with  his  regi- 
ment, regardless  of  whether  the  visitor  was  an  enlisted  man  or  an 
officer.     Colonel   Sholars  believed   in  nmlitary  discipline  and  effi- 


Appendix  227 

ciencr,  but  he  dotestofl  autocracy  of  military  rank.       His  views 
on  this  matter  made  him  very  popular  with  his  men. 

When  mustered  out  of  the  61st  Brij^ade.  Colonel  Sholars  re- 
turned to  Orange,  Texas,  where  he  resumed  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine. 

COLONEL  FRED  A.  LOGAN. 

The  "terrible"  commander  of  the  133rd  regiment,  was  a  mili- 
tary man,  first,  hist  and  all  of  the  time!  His  creed  and  religion 
were  EFFICIENCY.  Most  of  his  life  had  been  spent  in  the  mili- 
tary service — thirty-six  years  in  all — mostly  with  the  Texas  Na- 
tional Guard,  and  he  thought  and  lived  according  to  military  prin- 
ciples. 

Colonel  Logan  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  military  figures 
in  the  Texas  Guard  when  the  war  opened  and  his  assignment  to 
the  command  of  a  regiment  was  no  surprise  to  his  many  friends 
and  admirers.  He  had  risen  from  the  ranks  to  the  grade  of  cap- 
tain, and  his  record  for  achievement  and  efficiency  was  so  good 
that  his  choice  for  the  post  of  colonel,  was  altogether  fitting  and 
propef. 

He  entered  into  the  work  of  making  the  best  artillery  regiment 
in  the  United  States  Army,  immediately  after  arriving  in  Bowie, 
and  he  had  that  same  goal  ever  before  him  until  the  armistice  was 
signed.  His  efforts  were  tireless  and  his  demands  upon  his  men 
were  ceaseless  during  the  training  periods  in  Camp  Bowie  and  in 
Camp  de  Coetquidan.  In  truth,  before  the  brigade  left  France, 
Colonel  Logan  and  hard  work  came  to  be  synonymous  terms  to 
the  soldiers  of  his  regiment.  His  men  worked  hard  all  of  the 
time,  for  he  reasoned  that  the  only  way  to  make  soldiers  was  to 
train  them,  and  that  the  only  way  to  train  soldiers  was  to  have 
them  utilize  all  of  the  time  available,  in  their  work.  His  regiment 
did  a  great  deal  more  work  than  the  other  regiments  in  the  bri- 
gade and  at  no  time  were  his  men  given  much  freedom. 

It  can  be  said  for  the  Colonel  that  he  had  a  fighting  regiment 
and  one  that  would  have  given  a  wonderful  account  of  themselves 
if  they  had  ever  gotten  a  chance  at  the  front  line,  but  his  men 
did  not  think  of  that  part  of  their  work,  but  grumbled  and  chafed 
under  the  severe  strain  he  imposed  upon  them.  They  did  not 
question  their  Colonel's  ability  or  efficiency,  but  on  the  contrary 
rather  deplored  them,  because  he  could  not  sympathize  with  those 
who  were  not  as  efficient  ns  he. 

Colonel  Logan  was  brusque,  stern  and  difficult  to  approach : 
he  was  ready  to  talk  to  any  man  who  had  "anything  to  say."  but 
demanded   that   business,   and   business  onlv.   be  discussed  in  his 


228  Ti-ail  of  the  61st 

headquarters.  He  was  the  embodiment  of  military  zeal  and  tol- 
erated nothing  that  ran  counter  to  his  militarism.  He  was  in- 
tensely' ambitious  and  tried  to  make  his  regiment  the  best  in  the 
army. 

Upon  the  return  of  the  133rd  to  Camp  Bowie,  to  be  mustered 
out  of  service,  Colonel  Logan  was  placed  in  command  of  the  camp 
and  remained  as  commander  for  a  considerable  time  before  leav- 
ing the  service. 

LT.    COLONEL  H.   E.    STEVENSON. 

In  1881.  when  the  Stevenson  Brothers  moved  from  California 
to  the  Ivong-horn  state.  Colonel  H.  E.  Stevenson,  then  a  boy,  came 
with  them  to  Ysleta,  El  Paso  County,  Texas.  When  the  county 
seat  was  transferred  from  Ysleta  to  El  Paso,  in  1887,  the  Colonel's 
father  moved  to  the  latter  town  in  order  to  give  his  son  an  oppor- 
tunity to  attend  High  School ;  and  within  two  years  the  boy  had 
won  his  "sheep-skin"  from  the  El  Paso  High  School. 

During  his  attendance  in  High  School  young  Stevenson  was 
an  active  member  of  the  Cadet  Corps,  serving  as  a  lieutenant  and 
later  as  a  captain  in  that  organization.  His  rapid  rise  in  the 
corps  was  due  partially  to  the  previous  military  training  he  had 
received  under  a  West  Point  graduate  and  a  U.  S.  Army  officer, 
though  principally  to  his  personality  and  ability. 

From  the  High  School  Cadet  Corps  Captain  Stevenson  went 
to  Company  "H,"  4th  Texas  National  Guard  Infantry,  which  he 
commanded  for  a  short  time  before  entering  the  University  of 
Chicago  to  study  medicine,  in  1895. 

In  1898  he  joined  the  7th  Illinois  Infantry,  with  which  he 
served  through  the  Spanish-American  war.  After  returning  from 
the  war  he  resumed  work  in  Chicago  University  and  graduated 
from  the  medical  department  of  that  institution  in  1899.  when  he 
returned  to  El  Paso,  where  he  was  immediately  commissioned  a 
lieutenant  and  made  a  Battalion  Adjutant  in  the  Texas  National 
Guard,  stationed  at  El  Paso. 

Later,  he  was  made  a  captain  in  the  Texas  Guard  and  in  1914 
was  commissioned  Major  of  Infantry,  commanding  a  battalion  in 
May.  191G,  when  President  Wilson  issued  a  call  for  troops  to  serve 
on  the  border.  With  the  increase  in  the  Guard  in  1917.  Major 
Stevenson  was  advanced  to  Lt.  Colonel  and  was  made  commander 
of  the  111th  Ammunition  Train  when  it  was  formed  at  Camp 
Bowie, 

In  the  fall  and  early  winter  of  1917  an  epidemic  swept  over 
Camp  Bowie  and  the  entire  medical  force  of  the  camp  was  used  to 
combat  the   ravages  of  disease.     After  several   weeks  of   strenu- 


s 


Appendix  229 

ous  fiixhtins  rlio  niodical  foive  proved  unable  to  make  any  sub- 
stantial beadway  and  Doctor  Stevenson  was  drafted  to  take  char.i2:e 
of  tbe  situation.  lie  inunediately  put  into  effect  strict  rules  of 
sanitation  and  quarantined  the  irreater  part  of  tbe  camp:  bi 
medical  skill  enabled  bini  to  entirely  overcome  tbe  disease  wave 
that  .i2:ripi)ed  tbe  camp. 

Colonel  Stevenson  connnanded  tbe  Anununition  Train  from 
Camp  Kowie  to  France  and  return  bome  and  was  very  ])opular 
witb  bis  men:  bis  unit  was  one  of  tbe  best  trained  in  tbe  briijade. 
He  was  fair  to  bis  men.  sym])atbetic  witb  tbeir  troubles  and 
was  easily  approachable  at  all  times,  makin.i:  tbe  ]irivate  fe(M  as 
much  at  home  in  his  presence  as  tbe  officer. 

When  tbe  train  was  nmstered  out  of  service,  Colonel  Steven- 
sou  returned  to  El  Paso,  where  be  attain  resumed  the  ])ractice  of 
medicine.  For  years  he  has  lieen  one  of  the  most  prominent  i^by- 
sicians  in  Texiis  and  bis  sanitarium  at  El  Paso  is  widely  known 
throuijhout  the  Southwest. 


BRIGADE  ADJUTANTS  OF  THE  61ST  F.  A. 

BRIGADE. 

ET.   COEOXEE   SEOAX   SIMPSON. 

It  has  been  said  that  "a  man  who  has  smelled  powder  cannot 
keep  out  of  a  fi,ifht,"'  and  this  was  demonstrated  in  the  case  of 
Major  Sloan  Simpson,  of  the  First  Texas  Field  Artillery. 

Ma.jor  Simpson  was  with  Theodore  Roosevelt  in  Cuba,  havinj; 
served  as  a  cavalry  officer  under  the  famous  "Itougli  Rider,"  and 
when  the  war  opened  he  was  one  of  the  first  men  to  volunteer 
his  services  to  bis  former  conunander.  when  Teddy  attempted  to 
raise  a  force  of  volunteers  to  so  to  France  and  hel])  whip  the 
Kaiser.  The  Federal  Government  called  Major  Simpson  into 
service  before  tbe  Roosevelt  matter  was  settled,  however,  and  he 
was  later  taken  into  tbe  (Jlst  F.  A.  Kriijade  when  it  was  organized 
at  Camp  Bowie. 

While  at  Camp  Bowie  be  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Et. 
Colonel  and  retained  that  .grade  until  the  close  of  tbe  war.  He 
served  as  a  line  officer  until  after  the  (Ust  reached  Camp  de 
Coetquidan,  when  he  was  selected  by  General  Ste]ihens  for  the 
position  of  Brigade  Adjutant.  He  continued  in  this  capacity 
until  tbe  brigade  was  mustered  out  of  service,  though  he  sej)- 
arated  from  tbe  brigade  just  a   few  days  prior  to  its  departure 


230  Trail  of  the  61st 


from   Coetqiiidan,   in  order   to  visit   London   and   otlier  parts  of 
England. 

Before  tlie  war  Colonel  Simpson  was  a  substantial  business 
man  in  Dallas,  Texas,  and  was  especially  well  qualified  to  con- 
duct the  business  affairs  .»f  the  Gist  Brigade.  He  was  brief  and 
business-like  in  his  transactions  and  gave  the  organization  a  busi- 
ness administration  during  his  incumbency  as  Adjutant. 

After  the  death  of  General  Stephens,  he  practically  controlled 
the  brigade,  for  he  was  familiar  with  the  general  policies  and 
personnel  of  the  organzation.  while  Colonel  Farr  was  not.  He 
was  fair  and  just  and  was  iniiversally  liked  by  the  soldiers  and 
officers  of  the  brigade. 

WJien  the  Gist  was  mustered  out  of  service.  Colonel  Simpson 
was  called  to  the  War  Department  at  Washington  to  do  some 
sr)ecial  service. 

lAIAJOK    WILTOX    L.    ItUTAN. 

Major  Hutan,  one  of  the  youngest  majors  in  the  army,  was 
born  January  11th.  1895.  at  Mankato.  Minnesota.  As  a  boy  and 
youth  he  attended  school  during  the  winter  months  and  did  odd 
jobs  during  his  vacations.  He  finished  High  School  at  Port  Ar- 
thur, Texas,  in  1912,  and  graduated  from  the  Texas  A.  &  M.  College 
in  1915. 

While  in  college  Major  Rutan  took  an  active  interest  in  the 
military  work  of  the  Cadet  Corps,  in  which  he  received  three  years 
of  training  as  a  cadet,  and  also  enlisted  in  the  Texas  National 
Guard,  where  he  served  two  years,  one  of  which  was  on  the  Mexi- 
can border,  where  he  held  the  rank  of  Captain  in  the  3rd  Texas 
Infantry.  Soon  after  the  war  was  declared  he  was  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  Major  of  Infantry,  where  he  was  found  by  Brigadier 
General  George  T.  Blakeley.  when  the  Gist  V.  A.  was  organized 
at  Camp  Bowie. 

Major  IvUtan  was  very  popular  in  the  Gist,  especially  with 
the  members  of  Brigade  Headquarters  Detachment.  He  was 
known  among  this  little  group  as  "Squirrel,"  a  nickname  attached 
to  him  by  his  "Dog-robber."  Williams.  His  quiet,  forceful  i>er- 
sonality  impressed  the  men:  and  the  fact  that  he  was  such  a 
young  major  caused  all  the  soldiers  of  his  brigade  to  feel  pride 
over  his  being  in  their  organization. 

Wlien  Brigadier  General  .Tohn  E.  Stephens  assumed  command 
of  the  Gist  Brigade  he  chose  Lieutenant  Colonel  Sloan  Simi)son 
as  Brigade  .Vdjutant  and  Majoi-  Butan  was  returned  to  the  182nd 


Appendix  231 

Uoiriiuoiit  MS  comiuaiulor  of  a  b;ittalion.  He  immediately  'i^i- 
pressed  himself  on  his  regiment  and  soon  had  the  reputation  of 
being  one  of  the  best  line  officers  in  the  brigade. 

Major  liUtan  did  not  return  home  with  his  organization,  but 
was  held  in  France  for  special  duty  until  the  latter  part  of  April, 
when  he  sailed  for  home.  He  was  mustered  out  of  service  on  the 
2nd  day  of  May.  1019.  at  Camp  Mende,  Maryland,  after  which  he 
returned  to  his  home  in  Port  Arthur,  Texas. 


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